Because of What?
by FallenMystery
Summary: Voldemort aka Hello Kitty tries to rule the world of course! But FIRST, Lily gets stuck to a tree singing an annoying song, THEN jumps off a building... LJ hate/love. My first fic. FIN
1. Default Chapter

Lily rushed through the halls, terrified that she'd be caught out this late. She had fallen asleep in a bathtub in the prefects' bathroom. She took a shortcut back to the Gryffindor common room. As she rounded a corner, she was very hard-pressed to stifle a shriek. Walking down the corridor towards her was a terrifying party. It contained a rat, a huge black dog, a chocolate colored stag, and -- a werewolf. Any other person might of thought it a wolf, but Lily knew otherwise. They were at the other end of the hall, so Lily desperately thought that if she backed around the corner quickly enough it might not see her. Wrong. The werewolf caught her scent anyway.

Lily turned tail and ran. The werewolf gave a short, quiet howl and took chase. She heard more than one set of feet behind her. _The stag, dog, and rat must also be coming,_ she thought. Her two legs were no match for the werewolf's four. The group was soon caught up. Lily tripped on the hem of her robes.

The werewolf was almost upon her when the dog erupted into action. It turned and fought the werewolf to keep it away from Lily. The stag looked at her, held her eyes for one curious moment, and then whirled around to help the black dog. Lily inched away from the battle as quietly as possible.

The werewolf fought viciously to get at the sixteen year old girl, but the stag and dog put together slowly pushed it down the hall, step by step. It opened many small cuts on both of Lily's defenders, but there was a long gash down the stag's right front leg that bled rather badly. When the two had forced the werewolf into a classroom, the stag turned and limped back to Lily, who hadn't made much progress on her escape.

The stag bowed its head to her. She took the jest of the offer and grabbed one of its antlers. He pulled back, bringing the frightened girl to her feet.

"Thank you," she whispered to him. She turned to the dog. "And thank you. You both saved my life tonight." They could hear the werewolf trashing the classroom, searching for a way out.

The stag nodded his head down the corridor. Again, Lily understood. "Yes, I'd love an escort, thank you. I've had quite a scare tonight," she told him, voice shaking. The black dog moved in front of the werewolf's door. Lily nodded to him as she set off with the stag.

The stag limped along valiantly, but Lily knew the cut had to hurt.

"You should have that looked at," she told him. She had already figured that the stag and dog were most likely students of the school. "You might want to think of a story to explain it in the hospital wing, though."

They stopped in front of the Fat Lady's painting. Lily threw her arms around the stag's neck.

"As strange as the situation was tonight, I'd like to thank you again. You honestly did save my life. I hope that werewolf isn't a student like you and that dog."

The stag looked alarmed. She smiled at him. "I'm smarter than people think," she told him softly, then frowned. "Well, what I mean is, people think I'm such a bookworm, that I have no common sense or anything. They think all I'm good for is trying to get answers to the next test out of. Actually, the only people who don't milk me for information is the Marauders. They're smart enough, even if they're mischief-makers. And it's not like they're really _mean_ to anyone, just Snivelly. Away from his friends, even Potter can be almost considered decent." She stopped, looking horrified as she remembered that she was talking to a fellow student. "If you ever tell anyone I said any of that, I'll figure out who you are and tell Dumbledore that we have a werewolf, as well as unregistered animagi running around our school after dark." She hugged him tight for a moment, then kissed him on the cheek. "Good night," she whispered. He nodded to her and trotted off to rejoin his gang, still limping. Lily shook her head and entered the common room.

A/N: This is my first fanfic, so please go easy on me. If you decide to completely flame this story, that's ok too, flames help me see what I'm doing wrong (besides, I'm a pyro…) R&R or I'll send my evil purple elephant after you!


	2. New Beginnings

"Oi, Evans!" Lily sighed when she heard James Potter's voice calling her. She turned around.

"What is it Potter?" She asked, yawning. She was still exhausted from the night before, but as always, ready to hex him if the need occurred.

They were outside, and a stiff wind was blowing, so James had to fight it to reach her. As he came to stand in front of her, a particularly strong gust blew in, lifting the sleeves of James's robe up. Lily caught sight of a bandaged right forearm before James grabbed the sleeve to hold it down, looking rather white. He was glancing around anxiously to see who had noticed, so he didn't see Lily's reaction at first. Satisfied no one had seen, he turned back to her. The calculating look on her face caused him to take a step backwards.

"Damn it!"

"Why haven't you had that fixed?" She asked him curiously, though she was quite sure she knew the answer.

"Well, uh, you see," he began, flushing.

"That's what I thought," she said, mystified. "Er, can we step inside?" Her tone of voice made it a non-question. She grabbed his good arm and dragged him inside, into an empty classroom. "Something you'd care to explain?" She said.

"Well, not really, but you're not going to give me a choice, are you?"

"Right, if I have to, I'll jinx it out of you. So, I'm going to take a wild guess. Actually, I've had a theory for some time now on Remus's disappearances, but I didn't actually think I was right. So, let's see. You were the stag, of course. Sirius must have been the dog, and Remus has to be the werewolf. I suppose that means the rat I saw was Peter?"

He nodded, going pale. "Look, I would prefer no one else knew about this," he told her.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" she asked him. "I know I seem like all I know has come from books, Potter, but that isn't all of who I am!"

To her surprise, he nodded. "I know, I mean, you have to have practice to be as good at curses as you are!"

She gave an exasperated sigh and started to leave, stopping at the door to turn James green.

Lily spent the rest of the day sending nervous looks towards Remus, James, and Sirius. Later that night, the marauders gathered around the common room after everyone else had gone to sleep.

"Hey Prongs, what's up with Lily?" said Sirius. "She seemed a little, I dunno, _twitchy_ all afternoon."

James was irritable from being turned not just green, but _Slytherin _green. "Oh, nothing, just a little something having to do with Moony trying to kill her last night."

Remus flushed. "If I had any control over this--" he bellowed.

"Hush," said Sirius. "We know Moony, it's all right. Prongs is just a little sore over Evans, isn't he?" He asked James.

James glared at his best friend. "She turned me _green!_ Not normal green, _Slytherin green_! No Gryffindor should ever, EVER be turned Slytherin green! It just isn't right!"

Sirius tried in vain to keep a straight face. "As I recall, yesterday, you turned her not only frizzy, but Hufflepuff yellow."

"Yes, but not _Slytherin GREEN!_ Besides, I did that in retaliation. She did a full body bind on me while the girls put _makeup_ on my poor face!"

Sirius snorted. That had been something to remember. "But she did that because you did something to her! You two have been going back and forth with this since the first freaking DAY at Hogwarts! As I recall, at the feast, you hexed the poor muggleborn who knew nothing about magic so her pigtails turned black. That couldn't have been pleasant on her end!"

James rolled his eyes. "That was ages ago Padfoot, honestly, you'd think she'd be over it by now."

Sirius rolled his eyes in return.

The talk steered away from James's grievance with Lily to Quidditch, and a million other things mischievous sixteen year old wizards talk about in the middle of the night, so I'm not going to bore you…

In the mean time, Lily was talking with her friends. She was sitting on her bed with her closest friends. Missy was Lily's best friend, and at 5'2", Lily always joked that she only kept Missy around because Missy made even Lily's 5'4" seem tall. Her shoulder length brown hair was straight until her earlobes, where it fell into perfect, glossy curls, and was accented by red highlights that brought out eyes that were light or dark brown, depending on her mood. Joan was about 5'9", with straight bronze hair that fell to her shoulder blades and aqua eyes. Those eyes had caught quite a few boyfriends for her, though some said they were nothing compared to Lily Evans's green ones.

The girls talked about how amazing all the boys were, except Peter Pettigrew. The girls generally dismissed him from their thoughts unless they were pondering why the popular, sexy Marauders kept him around. They seldom pondered this though, as their thoughts would get too caught up in those popular, sexy Marauders.

"Ugh, I can't _stand_ how arrogant Potter is," said Lily in an exasperated tone. "Always going around, hexing people, playing with that stupid snitch. Did I tell you I turned him Slytherin green today?"

Missy laughed. "No! _Slytherin Green!_" Joan was rolling around with laughter.

"Yes! God, you should have seen his face. He was so amazingly horrified that he was sporting Slytherin colors! I thought he was going to be sick! Anyway, Missy, are you and Mike doing anything this weekend?" Mike was Missy's seventeen-year-old Ravenclaw boyfriend.

She grimaced. "Him? I dumped him last night." Lily rolled her eyes. Missy went through boyfriends faster than the Marauders went through detentions. "Now, Sirius Black, he's something!"

"Nothing compared to Remus Lupin," Joan sighed.

Lily rolled her eyes and beat her friends off her bed with a pillow, so she could get some rest. Of course, a pillow fight followed, and the boys in the common room, hearing the commotion, visualized what was happening with dreamy expressions on their faces.

A/N: Uh, yeah. Pillow fights and Slytherin green Gryffindors, and…stuff. Sorry, preoccupied thinking about next chapter, where Lily-- Ha ha, you lose! I'm not one for spoilers… Read on please…. R&R or I'll send my evil purple elephant after you!


	3. Lily's Night Out

The next day, a spring ball was scheduled for everyone third year and above. Neither Lily, nor the Marauders attended. (A/N: The Marauders didn't attend for certain lunar reasons, and I'm not going to tell you why Lily didn't attend, so keep reading)

Before the dance, Lily crept out of her dorm, hoping the other girls would be too obsessed with primping to notice her slinking off. Unfortunately, Lily was semi-accident prone when she was trying to be inconspicuous. Tripping over one of Missy's discarded shoes, Lily fell through the open dormitory door and all the way down the stairs, landing on top of James.

James, rather startled at being 'attacked', instinctively rolled over on top of his assailant. He was rather surprised to be looking down into Lily's shocked face. _God, this is a sight I could get used to._ _Shit! What am I talking about? This is EVANS!_ Her red hair pooled across the floor, and her face was flushed from her fall, and there was a deep bruise spreading over one cheek.

Lily, rather dazed from her tumble down the stairs, was confused when all of a sudden the person who had broken her fall was pinning her down. James's face was inches from hers, ebony hair spilling into his hazel eyes. For a moment, he looked surprised. In that moment, she saw in his eyes not malice, or anger, as she normally did, but something that confused her because she couldn't place it. But it was quickly masked.

Lily didn't bother suppressing a wince. Her fall had given her quite a few bruises, and James's Quidditch-playing body was heavy.

"Get off!" she yelled. Unfortunately, James's body was pressing all the air from her lungs, so the command came out as a whisper.

He obediently rolled off her, allowing her to breathe. "Watch where you're going!"

"Yeah, because I could _totally_ help that!" she said sarcastically.

James rolled his eyes, but Lily ignored him. She had a lot to do tonight, and if she didn't do it tonight, she would lose her nerve. Lily sat down on a couch, staring into the fire, and James, with one last look at her, went back up to the room he shared with the Marauders.

When everyone had left for supper (though she hadn't seen the Marauders), Lily snuck outside. She had been waiting for this opportunity for a _long_ while. She walked to the edge of the forbidden forest, and in the night, felt eyes watching her. Lily rubbed her arms to rid herself of goose bumps. What was the worst that could happen? _Well, you could meet up with a certain werewolf you know and get bitten… Stop it, _Lily scolded herself,_ werewolves only bite humans. _Because that was the thing Lily Evans was an Animagus.

Glancing around to make sure she was alone, Lily transformed into a doe. Feeling alive, she bounded into the Forest, worries of werewolves forgotten. She leapt over bushes, frolicking in the wind. Here, Lily was free of cares. She stopped, suddenly alert. She heard something coming through nearby bushes. If it were a wild dog, she'd have to flee, because it would chase her as a deer or a human.

What did come through the bushes caused her to nearly lose control of her transformation. A werewolf. But she remembered that she wasn't a human, and held her ground. That werewolf looked rather familiar. Sure enough, following it came a large black dog and a big chocolate colored stag. Lily knew Peter must be around somewhere.

The party wandered through the clearing. Lily ducked her head, hoping they wouldn't see her. But even as a dog Sirius couldn't resist pranking on _something,_ and felt inclined to chase her, barking madly. Lily's flight instincts took over, and she ran for it, Sirius and the rest of the gang hard on her heels. Luckily, she remembered soon enough that she was human, and turned to face him with her most Lily-like glare.

James saw the black doe before Sirius did, but thought there was something strange about it. When Sirius took off after her, James followed easily, hoping his friend would keep it in mind not to harm the creature. The doe was graceful in a familiar way, and James's gaze sharpened when she turned to face-off Sirius. That definitely wasn't normal deer behavior, and it quite obviously startled Sirius.

Suddenly, James had an epiphany and realized that the animal they were facing was human. The doe looked worriedly from a cowering Sirius to a high-headed James. Sirius suddenly realized they'd left Remus alone with a rat to keep him in line, and James followed.

Lily knew that they knew what she was, if not who she was. She sighed and continued her adventure, but with less heart than before.

A/N: This was a really hard chapter for me to write because I wrote it just after seeing The Ring 2 (which was AWESOME), so I am now mortally afraid of deer… R&R or I'll send my evil purple elephant after you!


	4. Purebloods and Princesses

Sunday morning, Lily lay awake in her bed, not yet ready to get up. She had noticed Sirius and Missy had been spending a lot of 'friendly time' (as Missy put it) together. Lily knew her friend would get to Sirius soon enough. All of a sudden, hysterical screaming jerked her completely awake.

Lily yanked aside her bed hangings to see what was up. The sight that awaited her caused her to double over with laughter. Sirius had flown his broom up the stairs, hoping to wake Missy up. When he entered the room, he was met by the screams of half a dozen half-dressed sixth year girls. Missy, who was already dressed, was attempting to usher her friend out of the room while girls screeched, covering themselves with anything they could grab, while throwing curses at Sirius with hastily snatched wands. Before Sirius left the room, he had leeks growing from his ears and he was yellow with frizzy hair and purple robes. Missy motioned for Lily to follow them. Lily knew Missy wanted help removing the curses.

Lily ducked out of the room, giggling, and followed the two down the stairs, Sirius sliding because he had forgotten to get back on his broom, so the stairs collapsed under him. The two girls, who were starting to get a hold of their giggles, burst out again, gasping for air by the time they reached the common room.

Only when she got there did Lily remember she was still in her pajamas. Most of the guys were looking at her with all-too-easily-read expressions. She tried to act cool, not as if she were standing in the common room in a tight black tanktop and short white shorts with strawberries on them. She didn't notice James in the corner, sending death glares at her.

Lily, still laughing, helped Missy restore Sirius back to his normal state. She collapsed onto the couch with a sigh as the normal-colored couple left the room for a walk by the lake. After a moment, she realized she still wasn't entirely awake, and before she could do anything about it, she fell into a dreamless sleep on the couch.

James listened to a fifth-year conversation as he contemplated what to curse Evans with.

"I hear the Slimy Slytherins are going to declare war on us Gryffies," one boy said.

"I heard that too. Did you know they actually created a ranking system for all the houses?" asked a second male voice.

"No! Do you know the order?"

"I only heard about us and the Slytherins. Apparently, their 'Pureblood Princess', as they call her, is Nacrissa Black, big surprise there. Their 'Pureblood Prince' is Lucious Malfoy, another big surprise," said the second voice.

"I never will understand their obsession with Purebloods! Anyway, continue."

"They call James Potter our Prince," (James fell off his chair).

"Pureblood Prince?" asked the first voice.

"No, just our prince. Don't particularly know why, but I suppose it fits, I mean, he _is_ always messing with the Slytherins…"

"Yeah, but so is Sirius Black."

"I know, but it might be that he always seems to take personal insult when they say 'mud-you-know-what'. Anyway, they call Lily Evans our 'Mud-you-know-what Princess'."

"Well, that's fitting, except for the mud part."

"Yeah, it is, isn't it? Funny thing is, they make a bigger deal about the princesses than they do the princes"

"Yeah well, the Slytherins are old blood (so old it's rotting…) and they like to think of themselves as gentlemen, so it kinda makes sense."

"I guess."

The conversation turned to other things, and James was left, pondering. Him? The Prince of Gryffindor? Definitely gave him some advantages. James was beginning to make evil plans when Lily woke up.

Her green eyes fluttered open. James jerked back. Most people awoke with unfocused, blurry eyes. Lily awoke with her clear eyes focused directly on James's.

"I heard that conversation a minute ago," she told him. "And if you get any ideas about this 'rank', you can take them and shove them where the sun don't shine. Besides, if your head gets any bigger…"

"Lily, look--" James began innocently.

"Just a warning," Lily told him, and stood up, stretching. "Now, I'm going back to bed, I don't want to hear another word of this from you. Clear?"

James nodded his head dumbly. _Like a thunderstruck deer, _he scolded himself._ Actually, more like a thunderstruck stag_…By the time James had pulled himself out of his musings, Lily had already slipped away.

Lily tried to erase the incident from her mind, but it stuck as firmly as any cocklebur, refusing to be dislodged. She hated the fact that the Slytherins had ranked her the same as Potter… Unfortunately and completely awake now, she sighed and dressed.

The red spaghetti-strap tanktop and denim jeans shorts suited the warm weather. Lily didn't want to admit to herself that she had half-enjoyed some of the stares she had gotten that morning, and that they might possibly be influencing her outfit choice. The normally conservative Lily was generally only seen in a tanktop and short shorts when in her pajamas. She wasn't even really sure _why_ she owned such things as the outfit she now wore. Apparently for such an occasion. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail after using magic to make it impossibly straight. The only makeup she applied was red lipgloss that matched the bright tanktop. She looked in the mirror, grudgingly admitting that she might not be a hopeless case after all.

She slipped quietly down the stairs, hoping no one would notice her silent departure from the common room.

James looked up from his magazine just in time to see the portrait close behind Lily. He grinned rather evilly and followed her out. James found Lily sitting under a big tree by the lake feeding bread bits to the giant squid. She had her sandals off and was bathing her feet in the cool water. James quietly climbed up the tree behind her and sat in a branch above Lily's head.

He pulled out his wand, shaking with anticipation. This was going to be good. He charmed Lily's hair silver and dark green, then did a full body bind on her. A very startled Lily fell flat out on the ground. James dropped down from the tree and grinned into her frozen, yet still glaring, face.

James bound her magically to the tree after doing a voice charm on her that caused her to sing "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts…" at the sound of laughter. James chuckled to test it out. When nothing happened, he removed the body bind. The sight of his enemy struggling madly without getting anywhere because she was still bound to the tree caused James to fall down laughing. Of course, this caused Lily to sing, which caused James to laugh harder, Lily glaring at him all the while.

Unfortunately for Lily, the curse didn't permit her to speak, so the only sound she could make was "…there they are, a standing in a row…", the whole shmere. A laughing group was forming around the beet-red Lily. Struggling against her bonds, she grinned an evil grin to rival James's. Her hand had worked its way into her pocket, and found her wand.

Before he knew what was happening, James found himself bound to the tree next to Lily, wand flying out of his hand.

"EVANS!" She would have laughed if she could. She undid the charms on herself, and stepped away from the tree.

Looking into the lake, Lily could have vomited. Her gorgeous hair was silver and green! She hurriedly turned it back, then tried to remove the singing spell. She did so successfully, but her hair went back to silver and green. After a few more tries, Lily found that if she removed one curse, the other remained. She decided she needed her voice for a moment.

"Potter," she whispered dangerously.

"Damn it Evans, it was just a joke!"

"Yes, so it this." She promptly dyed his hair bubblegum pink and his robes silver and green. She gave him purple-polka dotted skin, giggling all the while. For the finishing touch, she dumped the rest of her bread pieces on a _very_ horrified James, and before she stood back to watch, she bent down and whispered into his ear, "As you said, _no_ Gryffie should _ever_ be colored Slytherin green!"

Lily stood with the laughing crowd as the giant squid crawled a little out of the lake to dine on the bread strewn across poor James's hapless form. Lily, deciding that having Slytherin-colored hair was more embarrassing than singing, changed her hair back. She dashed back and grabbed James's wand from the ground (Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head) before retreating to find Sirius to take the singing charm off of her.

Lily dragged herself into the common room, still shaking with laughter, which unfortunately, caused her to sing (which was _really_ strange to see­). Someone grabbed her from behind.

"What'd you do now?" asked Sirius, turning Lily around so she could see him.

Once Lily had somehow communicated to Sirius that she needed him to reverse the spell (it was his, after all) she related the tale, ending it with an uncontrolled fit of laughter. Sirius, James's staunch ally, was doubled over next to her, breathless, tears running down his face.

"Are you serious?" He finally asked her, gasping.

"No, you are, but look out the window!"

Sirius looked out the window and stopped laughing. "Uh, Lily?"

"Yeah?" she asked, still giggling. She didn't mind being around Sirius; he wasn't as arrogant as James.

"You might want to run for it."

"Why?" Lily was confused. She was on top of this joke, not James.

"Look out the window."

Lily looked at the tree, but James was no where to be seen.

"Bloody Hell!" (glances at audience and cringes) "Oops, if you're religious, then what I meant to say was SHIT! Wait!"

"What?" Lily grinned impishly, twirling James's wand. Sirius gave a bark (yes, bark) of laughter. "I definitely know that wand! But, you have to ask, how did James get _un_stuck?"

"And that, my dear boy, is why I'm running to hide in the prefects' bathroom for a while!" Sirius snorted. "What? The only way geniuses don't get caught is if they hide!"

"Good point! If he comes this way, and he will, I'll tell him I saw you going to Madame Lazora to have your vocal chords put back to normal." He grinned evilly.

"And don't think you're off the hook for that, Sirius Black!"

"Oh, I know, but I thought he would use it on Snivelley or something. You know, if we could get you and James to stop making attempts on each others lives and sanity, you'd make a good addition to the Marauders."

"Actually Sirius, I don't think either James or I have any sanity left, so we're halfway there! Okay, running for my life now, see you later."

"Okay. Wait, Lily!"

"Yeah?"

Sirius blushed. "Uh, do you know, I mean, would you-"

Lily smiled gently. "Her favorite flowers are red climbing roses, her birthday is May 16, so her birthstone is an emerald, her favorite gemstone however, is a ruby. She likes marigolds, hates cats, and her ribs are her most ticklish spot. Her favorite kind of chocolate is dark Belgian chocolate. Is that good?"

"I owe you Lily."

She grinned at him. "She's my best friend. If I didn't tell a potential suitor all this, who would? And she's most likely to accept on a Monday night. Don't know why, but she's never turned down a date proposed on Monday night."

Sirius muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'freaken encyclopedia'.

"Okay, I'm really running for my life now. Bye!"

"Bye," said Sirius. "One more thing, in case you're never heard from again. Like all good pranksters, I know you have a list of all the pranks you've ever pulled. Leave it to me in your will?"

Lily shook her head, giggling. "Good_bye_, Sirius."

"Bye sister Lily!"

Sirius watched Lily disappear around the corner, shaking his head. _She's all right. Witty, cunning, and a healthy sense of mischief. A good match for James… _He smiledJames would skewer him for just thinking that_. Speak of the devil, because here he is now!_

James came flying around the corner. Sirius grimaced. He was dragging Lily along behind him -- literally. James's eyes were hectic, and he was pulling Lily, who was curled protectively around something, and covered in a green substance (which was helping her to slide). He dumped Lily at Sirius's feet.

"Didn't make it, did ya Lils?"

"He had to resort to a muggle trick. He poured liquid soap all over the hallway. GREEN soap! I fear for the life of the next person who so much as mentions green to me…"

"I need a jinx, or a hex, a curse, or SOMETHING!" shouted James, rather upset that his best friend was conversing with the enemy.

"James, calm down mate. What is your problem?"

"She won't give me my wand!" he whined like a child.

"Holy Hell Potter, it's just a piece of damn wood! I sang "I've got a lovely freaking bunch of coconuts" for half a freaking HOUR! Let me have my fun, damnit!"

"Evans, I'm warning you!"

"Potter, you don't scare me! Besides, I've got complete power, and I'm enjoying it!" And with a last, villainous laugh, she dashed down the hallway before either boy could move. They leaned around the corner in time to see her slip in the green liquid soap at the end of the corridor. "DAMN IT!"

A/N: Um, sugar high? The first person to correctly guess what happens to the next person who so much as mentions green to Lily gets their name put here . Dealio? And El, you don't count because you helped me figure it out! R&R, or I'll send my evil purple elephant after you…


	5. When Evil Minds Get Eviller

Lily spent the rest of the night plotting her vengeance upon James (she had spelled his wand (you didn't know that was possible, did you?) to zoom around the Great Hall during dinner. It was hilarious to see him have to chase after it. He eventually caught it, sending death glares at Lily). This time, it wasn't going to be a joke or a prank. This was a full-out evil scheme, complete with map and everything. Unfortunately for Lily, James spent the rest of the night (yep, you guessed it) also planning an evil scheme, complete with a map and everything. Unfortunately (God, I love this word!) for James, James got the Marauders' help on his plans, and one of them was very much in debt to Lily, and very much in love with Lily's best friend. So, the story continues, despite the author's rants…

"Oh, Lily," whispered Missy hauntingly, leaning over her best friend's face.

Lily sleepily batted at Missy, glancing at her digital watch. "Missy! It's five a.m.! Have some consideration, please!"

"Believe me, you don't want to go to sleep," said Sirius, his face appearing in her view. "My dear fat-headed friend has some interesting things planned for you."

"Taken care of, because I have some pretty terrible things planned for him."

"Yeah, but Lils, you really, _really,_ want to avoid some of the things he's going to try on you," said Missy. "Unless you would _enjoy_ walking around all day with your lips glued to Malfoy's…"

"Okay, I'm officially awake now, so tell me what the HELL you're talking about!"

At breakfast, Lily was looking over her new and improved plan when someone's shadow fell across her parchment. She looked up to see McGonagall looking down. She wore a very disapproving look and held a wincing James by one ear. Lily noticed James held rolls of parchment as well.

"Miss Evans, I have been informed by concerned students that your friendly rivalry with Mr. Potter is none too friendly." She took hold of Lily's ear as well, lifting her from her seat. Lily hastily gathered her maps. "We will further this discussion in my office." She towed the two grimacing students all the way to her office, their sympathetic friends looking on after them. Lily sighed as whispers followed them out the hall.

"This has gone far enough! I'm aware that at the moment there are numerous magical traps set up around the grounds at this moment, by my two PREFECTS! I've stood by while your competitions got fiercer and fiercer, while you two alternated between silent treatment and insulting competitions. I've even ignored some of the hexing and jinxing I've seen! I REFUSE to ignore anything else you two do to each other! And apparently you two have been using spells on one another for quite some time now! That is improper use of magic, and is NOT taken lightly! Do either of you have anything to say for yourselves?"

They both looked properly ashamed and shook their heads.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor _each_ and three days detention _together_." They both gasped and practically died. Lily came rather close, actually, she fainted and McGonagall had to revive her.

"Couldn't we do like, _four_ days each, _apart_?" asked James.

"No, and since you like the number four, you can do _four_ days detention _together_. Your detention assignments will arrive during dinner. You may leave."

For the next five minutes, all that could be heard from the two was incoherent cursings. If you did happen to understand something, it would sound something like this: "Damn Potter/Evans, that arrogant piece of shit, how the hell-- four freaking days! Damn Potter/Evans, that arrogant…" you get the jest.

As soon as the two were out of sight of McGonagall's door, an interesting occurrence, well, occurred. Actually, not so much interesting as fantastically hilarious to watch. Sirius and Missy had been planning this for a moment they knew their friends would be annoyed most. The moment Lily and James rounded the corner, they were bombarded by hundreds of illusions of Snape and Malfoy. The illusions were attempting to kiss the two prefects. At the same time, showers of green paint were pouring down. As it came in contact with skin, it faded to silver, then back to green, and back again. To top it all off, a shower of heart-shaped confetti avalanched down, sticking to the paint-covered teenagers.

Of course, at being attacked, each assumed the other was to blame. Therefore, if you looked at this scene, you would see two now-green, now-silver prefects fighting off love-struck Snapes and Malfoys while trying to move despite the pounds of heart-confetti sticking to their bodies, and _still_ trying to jinx each other. They were succeeding in cursing each other for sure.

James had a beard. Lily had three arms. James swelled up like a grape. Lily started hiccuping yellow turtle-shaped bubbles. Lily liked this idea and gave James a turtle shell. Lily gained a third eye (which was _really_ weird). James grew a monkey tail (which stuck out the bottom of his turtle shell). Lily's third arm started tickling her. James grew a third leg that started kicking him. Therefore, Lily's third arm started punching her. The list goes on and on people.

Finally, Lily had an epiphany (I love that word and I don't know why).

"DAMN IT MISSY YOU'RE DEAD!" James, about to hex Lily, stopped.

"SHIT! SIRIUUUUUUUUUUSSSS!"

The two culprits appeared on command (they were using James's invisibility cloak). They had been laughing hysterically, but neither Lily nor James had heard them because they were rather caught up in their battle. The Snapes and Malfoys disappeared with a wave of Missy's wand.

(A/N: remember what Lily said earlier about what was going to happen to the next person who so much as mentioned green to her? Think about what's going to happen to the people who cover her in green paint…)

Lily turned impossibly red. Forgetting for a moment that she had been trying to kill James, she said, "You take Sirius, I've got Missy." James agreed, and they advanced on their friends. Lily pointed her wand at Missy and without a word transfigured (yes, transfigured) Missy into a snake. Lily stood, stunned. _She_ had just transfigured a person into a snake. She hadn't known she was that strong!

James was rather shocked, but thought it was a good idea, so he transfigured Sirius into a snake. Lily snatched up the two, holding them firmly. She leaned down to them.

"Sirius, I warned you what would happen to the next person who so much as _mentions_ green to me. Idiot. And Missy! I mean, _come on!_ Snape _and_ Malfoy? That was just plain mean!" James snatched the two from Lily.

"Sirius mate, what the fuck? Snape and Malfoy poofs? I mean, come _on_. Because of you, I have a monkey tail, a turtle shell, and three legs along with an assortment of other freakishly weird deformations! And since they were caused because of your prank, these hexes were meant for you…" he pulled out his wand and twirled it evilly. "Evans, grab their wands, and on the count of three, change them back. They may be able to run faster as people, but I think we can-- improve-- their conditions."

Lily grinned an unsettlingly evil grin. She transfigured her friends back. Of course, being smart(ish), the two ran for all they were worth, James and Lily running after them, hexing their brains out (in Sirius's case, literally).

If you looked at the corridor, you would have seen two green teenagers with strange abnormalities chasing two more _very_ screwed up teenagers who seemed to be running as though their lives depended on it (and they probably did).

Lily and James were told to serve their detentions with a temporary teacher. This teacher had a name. The name was Nirlanna Umbridge (Dun, dun, DUN!). So for the next four nights, the two teenagers sat side by side, carving 'I will submit to Queen Umbridge' into their hands. You can imagine how amazingly pleasant this was. It just sorta…fueled James and Lily's hatred for each other. I mean, when pain is crazing you like that…

A/N: I'm SO sorry it's so short, but MY HEAD HURTS! Besides, I was running out of ideas, I had to enlist the help of Elli (Clueless Bystander) once I got Missy and Sirius into snakes. THANKS A MILLION ELLI! Anyway, sorry again for the short chappie, but at the moment, it's like 3 AM and I'm on a sugar high because I'm eating ice cream, so, Sami out! R&R or I'll send my evil purple elephant after you!


	6. The End of the Beginning of This Story

The next few weeks flew by for the sixth years, and Lily and James were forced to settle for quick hexes on each other, ones teachers weren't apt to notice. Sirius asked Missy out on a Monday night, and, of course, she accepted. Their snogging at the dinner table, in the common room, and just about everywhere else became natural to see. Lily was highly frustrated she hadn't been able to carry through with her larger plans for James. McGonagall always seemed to be there whenever the two were forced to be within a hundred feet of each other. Their friends groaned and tried to make them truce, but the hatred ran too strong between the two prefects, and all attempts seemed futile.

To Lily, all too soon, they were packing up their things, readying for the train ride home. Lily sighed; resigned to a summer of only seeing Missy now and then, and being forced to listen to Petunia's shrieks every day for weeks.

Lily walked down the stairs to the Great Hall, where the farewell breakfast was about to commence. Breakfast itself was uneventful, but of course, the Marauders went out with a bang, gluing all the Slytherins to their chairs and spelling them to sing some ridiculous song about worshipping the superior Gryffindors, with gold and red confetti and sparks flying about the room. Lily laughed along with everyone else in the hall (minus the Slytherins).

Later, on the train, Lily found an empty compartment and sat down, sighing. Joan followed her, then Missy, attached at the lips to Sirius (of course!) unfortunately for Lily, with Sirius came James and Remus. Peter was nowhere to be seen. (A/N: this is because I hate Peter and he sucks beyond all reason and belief. He's getting run over by the train for all I care.)

After about fifteen minutes, Missy detached herself from Sirius, proclaiming that she was bored. Lily laughed. Missy was always bored. "Truth or Dare?" Lily suggested, then cringed. Damn it!

"Yeah!" said Missy, eyes lighting up. "That's perfect!" Lily proceeded to bang her head mercilessly against the window. Missy set up a charm that caused you to only be able to speak about how much you love Slytherins for a week if you either refused the truth/dare, or told a truth incorrectly. That would keep anyone from cheating. "Remus, truth or dare?"

Remus thought for a moment. "Truth."

"Hmmm. Who is your current obsession?" Joan sat up, her attention caught.

Remus blushed. "That spell is for real, isn't it?" Missy nodded devilishly. Remus muttered incoherently.

"What was that?" asked Missy, her eyes shining.

Remus sighed. "Can I request that the object of my obsession leave the room while I proclaim my undying love for her?"

Missy nodded.

"Joan, please leave." Remus said mischievously. Joan's eyes lit up, but Missy shoved her out the door before she could say anything. "Obviously, I have a crush on Joan, now if we could let her back in?"

Missy giggled, opening the door to admit a very red Joan. As she walked into the compartment, Sirius 'casually' stuck his leg out, tripping her. Joan fell into Remus's lap.

"Do you really like me?" she asked.

"I'm not talking about how much I love Slytherins, am I?"

Joan giggled. "I really like you too, Remus."

Remus's face lit up. "Are you serious?"

"No, he is," (A/N: I love doing that!) she said, nodding to Sirius. "But if you mean do I really like you, then yes."

Joan kissed him on the cheek. James scooted over so she could sit next to Remus instead of on top of him.

"Prongs and, truth or dare?" Remus asked.

"Hey, that's not fair!" said Lily. "You can't do two at once!"

"Um, actually Lils, since he addressed both of you, you both have to do whatever he tells you," said Sirius.

"Damn it!"

"So you two, truth or dare?"

"Dare!" the two said together.

Remus grinned an evil grin that no one knew he had possession of. "I dare you to make out."

The following insued: "THANK YOU! GENIUS! IDIOT! I'M GONNA BE SICK! kisses" this was all said by: Missy, Sirius, James, Lily, and Joan (in that order, yes, the kisses are Joan because Joan resumed kissing him).

"What's worse? Kissing your enemy, or talking about Slytherins for a week?" asked Remus evilly.

"Moony, I do declare, you are an absolute genius!" said Sirius seriously (A/N: I'm SO sorry, I couldn't resist the pun! I'll try to never do it again…) The only sound coming from Missy was hysterical laughter. James looked as if he would like to jump out the window, and Lily did indeed look like she was going to be sick.

Lily was rather pale and kind of green. "Remus, when we get back to Hogwarts, you are going to get a _very_ nasty surprise." Now it was Remus's turn to pale. No one wanted to be on Lily's bad list. "What's the verdict Potter?"

James sighed, defeated. "I think my parents will admit me to St. Mungo's if I start talking about my love for Slytherins, so I s'pose we have to do it, Evans. Damn it Moony, you're dead!"

"Um, question, make out, that means--"

Missy grinned. "That means at least one minute long. I don't think any of us are mean enough to make you two use tongue, am I correct?" everyone nodded. "All right, begin."

Lily smirked. "You don't get to watch." James grabbed her arm and pulled her into an empty compartment. "Is this really worth it?" she asked.

James sighed. "Well, it's either that or talk about Slytherins, and I think I'd cut my tongue out if I had to do that."

"Good point," said Lily. "Well, let's get it over with."

They leaned forward, and Lily closed her eyes. When their lips met, Lily felt an electric shock. Her eyes opened wide, meeting James's. Lily had never noticed that his eyes were hazel. She had always thought them to be brown. They pulled apart, breathing slightly fast. Lily blushed and cast her eyes down, as did James.

"Um," he said.

They both lunged for the compartment door at the same time, resulting in a head-on collision where James's forehead collided with Lily's mouth. They bounced apart, groaning.

"Owwwwwwwwwww." Lily fumbled for the door and slid it open, holding her head, just as James was. They sat down in the compartment, Lily blushing furiously.

Missy laughed. "Tough time?"

Lily looked at her, rather confused. Lily glanced at James. Seeing that James had a big red mark on his forehead, she pulled out her compac with a feeling of dread. Her lip was bleeding and swollen from running in to James. She knew what it looked like.

"Shit," she said, magicing a piece of ice for her lip.

Their 'friends' had moved around so James and Lily were forced to sit together. Missy and Sirius were holding on to one another for support, shaking with laughter, and Remus and Joan were just sort of lost in each other's eyes.

Lily spent the a while staring out the window, remembering all the things she had done at Hogwarts this last year, scooted as far away from James as possible. James sat there rubbing his forehead.

James watched Lily watch the scenery. No, that wasn't right. She was completely zoned out. _Wow, she makes red hair look good. Oh my God, I didn't just think that about Evans!_ _But…_ The bug had bit. James had caught the Lily-flu, like so many other Hogwarts guys. _This can NOT be a good thing. But still, those eyes…_

James reminisced for a while, completely oblivious to his surroundings. Lily eventually dozed off, and to James's joy, slumped against him, her head on his shoulder. James too, nodded off, his head resting on Lily's.

The pair awoke to the sound of giggles. Sirius, Remus, Missy, and Joan were watching them, making poor attempts at smothering their laughter. The train had stopped, and people were filing out.

When Lily woke up, she smiled before opening her eyes. Her head was resting on some guy's shoulder. But who? She had broken up with Zach weeks ago. Lily sat bolt upright, remembering that her pillow's name was 'James Potter'.

Lily glared daggers at her friends while gathering her stuff. That had opened the still-fresh wound of her break up with Zach. FLASHBACK-THINGY:

_Lily sat next to Zach by the lake, his arm around her shoulder._

_"I love you," he told her. Lily sat bolt upright._

_"Why?" she demanded immediately._

_Zach was startled for a moment. "B-because you're so beautiful, and--" Lily slapped him._

_"Wrong answer!" she told him, tears forming in her eyes. The girl with flaming red hair walked away without looking back._ END FLASHBACK-THINGY.

Lily wiped away a single tear. No, she didn't regret it. Any guy who was going out with her for her looks wasn't worth tears or time. Lily looked up at the world, defying all, and was surprised to see James watching her. _Planning another prank on me,_ she thought. _Probably something to kick off the next year._ Lily sighed. Some things never changed.

Lily walked off the train and was dazzled by the bright sunlight. Lily said her goodbyes, hugging her friends. She finally straightened and walked through the barrier to muggle London.

A/N: giggles okay, I had fun with the whole Lily-and-James-smacking-heads deal. Um, what I did with the electric shock was kinda common, so if it's yours, I'M SORRY! Okay, watch this: doesn't that look kool? I'm easily amused. Uh, off to post more! Toodles. R&R or I'll send my evil purple elephant after you!


	7. Summer Days, Wasting Away

Lily threw her alarm clock at the wall in attempt to make Petunia stop banging on it from the other side. Lily had charmed it at Hogwarts so it wouldn't break every time she threw it at the wall (which she did every time it woke her up, as well as in moments like this). (A/N: As the reader, you would probably like to know _why_ Petunia was banging on the wall. As the author, I can tell you that I have no reason to have Petunia bang on the wall, but I was just thinking how nice it would be to have an alarm clock that didn't break every time I threw it against the wall (which I do daily). Besides, with James absent in this scene, I still felt the need for something violent to happen to somebody, and it just so happens I have a grudge against alarm clocks. Now, back to the story…) The banging continued, and Lily groaned, stuffing her face in her pillow. Thinking of all the horrible things she would inflict upon Petunia if she were allowed to do magic.

All of a sudden, something heavy landed on her back, squealing apologies. Lily realized it was her best friend. Before Missy could squeak out another apology, Lily was hugging her.

"OH MY GOD MISSY YOU ARE MY SAVIOR!"

Missy laughed and hugged her friend. "I love being able to apparate!" said Missy. "So, mall day?" Lily grinned and did a quick, light makeup job while her friend browsed her wardrobe. When Lily turned away from the mirror to see what her friend had picked out for her, Lily laughed. Because she honestly thought Missy was joking. Missy was holding up a white halter top that would end an inch above Lily's belly button, and a short, black jeans mini skirt. Lily's laugh died when she realized her friend was serious.

"Missy!" Lily said reprimandingly. Missy glared at her friend.

"Lily, I don't know what your problem is, but you are seventeen and hot. You dress like an old lady and deny how pretty you actually are. If that doesn't change, I'm going to get you some counseling."

"But Missy, I'm not pretty!" Lily objected. "My hair's stop-light red, my skin's bone white, and my eyes are grasshopper green!"

"Lily, you're blind! Don't you realize how many guys have asked me to ask you out for them? Don't you notice the stares you get when you dress even a little bit flirty? I mean, you practically have a freaking fan club! Your hair has been described as seductively mysterious, your skin has been described as fair and delicate, and your eyes… Over the years, I've had to listen to guys talk about your emerald colored eyes for hours! Lily, you're stunning, why can't you see that?"

Lily was about to object, and stopped. Yes, lately she _had_ been noticing the stares, and a fan club? Maybe… "Okay. Missy, I want you to do something for me." Missy nodded eagerly. "I need you to help me dress like a seventeen year old. I've got a ton of money saved, so that won't be an issue. I want an entirely new wardrobe." Missy's eyes glinted mischievously.

"Gladly," was her reply.

The two girls spent the entire day at the mall, Missy picking out a closet full of new outfits for her best friend. Once the clothes shopping was finite, Missy insisted on Lily buying a billion pairs of new shoes and all new makeup. A laughing Lily did whatever Missy told her, starting to think that maybe a new look wouldn't be too bad.

James threw evil glares at Sirius as Sirius laughed so hard he fell off of the armchair he was perched on. "See," said James. "THIS is why I never tell you stuff like this!"

"Oh-oh my G-god! You've spent the past six years making Lily hate you, and now--" Sirius was practically convulsing with laughter. James muttered something about how certain people were more like their animagus forms than they had any right to be. He would have put Sirius in a body bind if he could do magic. "You have to admit it mate, this is funny."

"No, it's not funny! One minute I want to hex every hair on her freaking head, the next I'm realizing how stunning she is, and just _looking_ at her makes me feel wobbly. I mean, Padfoot, I've never felt like this before. Sure, all the girl's I've gone out with have been hot and everything, but this is different."

"So, how terrible of a kisser was she?"

James's face went all dreamy and stuff. "She was perfect. Knew exactly what to do. And Pads, when our lips met…"

"Yeah, yeah, love at first kiss," said Sirius sarcastically.

"No, actually, yeah, but that's not what I was going to say. When our lips met, I felt an electric shock, and I know she did too, because her eyes opened really wide. I'd never before noticed how much they look like emeralds…"

"Sounds like you've been bitten by the Lily-bug, Prongs, just like ninety percent of the males in Hogwarts."

"So, how terrible of a kisser is James?" Missy asked her best friend as they got Chinese food at the mall.

Lily cringed. "I'd rather not relive the experience, if it's all the same to you."

"That bad, huh?" asked Missy sympathetically.

"No, actually, he was pretty good, but come on, it's James for Godsake. But it was weird. When our lips touched, I felt this, I don't know, this electric shock. It was really startling."

"I'm so sorry Lils," said Missy, hiding a grin in her lemonade.

"LIAR!"

Missy grinned outright. "But if you didn't know I was lying, you'd be comforted by it." Lily muttered something that Missy only caught two words of 'electric' and 'chair'.

A/N: I know, this is my shortest chappie yet, and I'm SO sorry, but as ironic as it is, I want to get back to school! By school, I mean Hogwarts, so you don't have to worry about hauling me off to the mental hospital. Yet. R&R or I'll send my evil purple elephant after you!


	8. Diagon Alley

James was waiting for Sirius in front Flourish and Blotts. Sirius was late. Again. He saw a pretty young woman about twenty feet away, sitting on a bench with an owl cage next to her and a frozen yogurt in one hand. The owl was coal black and very majestic looking. Every now and then, the young woman would lean over and say something to it.

Being rather bored, James walked over, deciding to strike up a conversation with the beauty. He sat down next to her. She glanced at him. It was a rather flirtatious glance, actually. She fluttered her heavy eyelashes over her bright green eyes. A delicately boned hand brushed a strand of perfectly curled red hair out of her face.

"Hello," James said.

"Hi." She fluttered her eyelashes again.

"New owl?"

"Oh, yes."

James sighed inwardly. For such a flirty glance, she was certainly hard to chat up.

"Does she have a name?"

"Dragon's Heart."

"So, what school do you attend? I presume you are still a student?" He _really_ wanted this girl's number.

"Oh, Hogwarts."

"Why haven't I seen you before?"

"You attend Hogwarts as well? You don't seem the least bit familiar." Again, those eyelashes.

James was about to give her his name when Sirius (hand in hand with Missy) walked around the corner.

"Prongs!"

"Lily!"

James looked at the seductive, mysterious beauty in front of him. This was _Lily Evans_? What the hell? The Lily he knew dressed in high-collared shirts and conservative pants, not the strapless dark green silk dress that ended four inches above her knees, flaring slightly out at her hips, a flare that continued to the bottom of the dress. No, this could not be Lily. Yet the green eyes were the same, if nothing else. This was Lily Evans.

When the handsome boy sat down next to Lily, she knew what he wanted. She was used to it by now. Missy had done her job well. Lily couldn't go anywhere anymore without getting hit on. This young man was actually amazingly hott. He had hazel eyes and ebony hair that was sexily messy. He was tanned, and she could tell that he was well muscled under his black silk shirt.

"Hello," he said in a deep voice.

"Hi." She was waiting for Missy, and wasn't really in the mood to be chatted up, even if he _was_ really hott. She fluttered her eyelashes at him anyway. Hey, she was bored.

"New owl?"

"Oh, yes." He was trying really hard; she had to hand it to him.

"Does she have a name?"

"Dragon's Heart."

"So, what school do you attend? I presume you are a student?"

"Oh, Hogwarts." Okay, she had to give him _something_. What she really wanted to do was write her number all over his hands.

"Why haven't I seen you before?"

"You attend Hogwarts as well? You don't seem the least bit familiar." She fluttered her eyelashes again. She could easily read the expression on his face. It was fun tormenting him.

Missy walked around the corner, her hand in Sirius's. So _that's_ what was taking her so long…

"Prongs!"

"Lily!" Lily looked around. James? Here? But where? Then it hit her. The hott, civil young man she had been conversing with was her worst enemy. Now that she saw him in perspective, she expected to see him as she always did: an arrogant, annoying, egotistical bastard. She didn't see it. She still saw the hott, civil young man she had been conversing with. Shit. She stood up. "Missy!" she said in an oh-thank-God-you're-here voice that she had mastered faking.

_I don't know, he certainly LOOKS like he's grown up over the summer. Even his voice has changed. It's a lot deeper and pleasant to listen to. And no glasses… Oh my God! Lils, snap out of it! This is POTTER!_

Lily quickly covered her confusion. A lot quicker than James did, anyway. He was sitting there, opening and closing his mouth. Lily smirked.

"Cat caught your tongue?"

"Y-y-y-you--"

"Yes, me." Missy and Sirius were laughing their heads off.

"Y-you look…"

"Stunning, radiant, gorgeous?" Lily suggested, twirling.

"Different," he managed to choke out.

Lily laughed. "I much preferred radiant, but different is good."

"But--you're--acting--"

"Acting, yes Potter." She fluttered her eyelashes. "You attend Hogwarts as well? You don't seem the least bit familiar."

James swore. Lily laughed. Missy and Sirius had collapsed onto Lily and James's previous bench, tears rolling down their faces.

"Still want my number?" she asked innocently. James glared at her.

"Yeah."

"What?" she asked, taken aback.

"I said, yeah, I do." He grinned maliciously.

"Um, okay…" Lily said, unsure. She'd obviously been joking. It seemed he was just as apt to tease her. Lily pulled a quill out of her purse and printed her number neatly on his hand. James didn't know that the quill was charmed. She used it to write her number for guys she didn't really want to have her number. By the time she was out of sight, the number would change to 1-800-luvlily. James looked amazingly surprised that she wrote her number down. But he knew Lily too well.

"Sorry, Evans, I'm no fool." He pulled out a normal quill and copied the number onto his other hand. Now it was Lily's turn to swear. Missy and Sirius were laughing harder than ever.

"You know," gasped Missy. "You two are perfect for one another!"

Lily glared at her friend. "Missy, you will pay for that."

James clapped Missy on the back. "It was nice knowing you."

Missy just rolled her eyes. "Okay guys, catch up with you on the train. Bye Sirius." She gave her boyfriend one last kiss and walked off with Lily.

"Oh my God, did you see his face!" Lily gasped once they were out of hearing range of the boys. "I thought he was going to die!"

"You're not one to be talking," Missy smirked. "You seemed rather surprised yourself when the guy you were flirting with turned out to be James Potter!"

"He was flirting with me! I tried to discourage him, really!"

"I saw the way you were looking at him Lils! I haven't seen you look at anyone like that before. Besides, I've been talking to Sirius a lot over the summer. It seems our Little Jamesie is growing up."

"I DO NOT LIKE HIM!"

"Lily, I'm your best friend. You can't keep anything from me. You and James really are perfect for each other…"

"I'm leaving if you are incapable of having an intelligent conversation," said Lily, very annoyed that her best friend was accusing her of such a horrendous crime. The two girls finished their shopping together and went home to finish packing.

"Oh my God, you should have seen your face!"

"It's not funny Sirius," James grumbled as his friend exploded into another round of laughter.

"You looked like Christmas had come early and then was canceled! But you know, I think she likes you."

"What!"

"Just a few things Missy's said. Besides, the look on her face before she found out it was you… Well, let's just say that the very look on her face said she thought you were hott."

"Really?"

"Yeah, mate. Now let's go into Zonko's before we leave. We've got to stock up!"

Unlike most pureblooded families, James's owned a telephone and they all knew how to use it. No one was sure _why_ they had a telephone, and no one really _cared_ that they had a telephone, except maybe the Malfoys because they considered owning a muggle artifact to be a disgrace, but then, they thought the Potters were a disgrace anyway, so I suppose the Malfoys didn't really care after all…

When James got home, he raced through the door, through the kitchen, past a tray of still-hot chocolate chip cookies, up the stairs, back down the stairs, back into the kitchen, grabbed a handful of cookies, went back up the stairs, flung open his door, and slammed it behind him, already chewing on a cookie. He looked at his hand. Sure enough, the number Lily wrote was now 1-800-luvlily. That girl was diabolically clever. Damn, he loved her.

He picked up the phone and dialed the number. A woman answered the phone.

"Evans residence."

"Mrs. Evans?"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if Lily was home yet."

"Why yes, she is. May I ask who's speaking?"

"This is James Potter, I was just calling to confirm my coming over from dinner, and wondering if there was anything I should bring?" He grinned evilly.

"Oh, Lily hasn't said anything to me! Oh dear, I must be going then! Here's Lily." James heard her place her hand over the phone and say "Lily, there's a charming young man on the phone for you. Again. My, you've been getting a lot of calls this summer!" James frowned at this. He didn't like the idea of Lily getting 'a lot of calls'.

"Hello?" Lily sounded confused. James could tell she didn't remember giving her number to any charming young men today.

"Lily, my love, how kind of you to invite me to dinner!" he said evilly.

"WHAT THE HELL POTTER!"

"I can't believe you forgot to tell your mother! Tisk tisk, Lily. I thought you were responsible!"

"James, you sick bastard, don't you dare come over here!"

"Too late Lils, your mum already knows." He heard a click, then 'if you would like to make a call, please hang up and try again'. He grinned an unsettling grin.

_HOLY HELL! How could he do this to me! He's coming to my HOUSE!_ Lily's mother stuck her head in.

"How nice to see that you and James have finally resolved your differences." She frowned. "I can't believe you forgot to tell me you had invited him to dinner, though." When June left, Lily screamed into her pillow.

Dinner went quite well, considering. Lily dressed in a low-cut black dress that flared out slightly, falling to the floor. James acted the gentleman, bringing roses and dressing in a suit. All through dinner, Lily had to resist smashing his head against the table as he played suck-up to her parents.

Petunia almost 'accidentally' dropped the spaghetti sauce in Lily's lap, but James caught it. When this happened, however, Lily jerked her arms away, which unfortunately snagged her belly ring on her dress. It hurt like hell.

"Are you all right Lils?" James asked, seeing her face turn rather red.

"I'll be right back," she squeaked. She ran up to her room, and once there, gave into the impulse. "DAMN THAT HURT!" She fixed the ring, then calmly returned to dinner, acting like nothing had happened.

Everyone was looking at her. "Um, my, er, earring got snagged?"

A/N: I know, I know, I had more fun with that than I should have, blah, blah, blah, I've heard it all before. But what can I say? It's 1:24 a.m. and I just drank two diet cokes with lime, so I'm WIRED! I have insomnia. R&R or I'll send my evil purple elephant after you!


	9. Hogwarts Express again!

_Every time I look up,_

_I see it in your face you wanna hook up with me._

_Instead of acting like you're supposed to,_

_You cop an attitude like you're too good for me,_

_If I wanted I could take you from your man – with my eyes closed._

_I could have you eating out of the palm of my hand,_

_And all your little girlfriends too._

_No you can't get with me, and I don't want you,_

_Yes I can and I will if I want to._

_If I-if I want to, if I-if I want to baby._

_Aint nobody trying to clown you,_

_But you too damn old to play highschool games with me._

_Yes you do,_

'_Cause even when I'm not around you I be hearing from my friends you been asking bout me._

_I don't really care how long you been together with your man._

_It's just a matter of time,_

_Before I make you mine._

_I wanna make it clear so there's no misunderstanding,_

_That I get, what I want, when I want._

_If I wanted I could take you from your man – with my eyes closed._

_I could have you eating out of the palm of my hand,_

_And all your little girlfriends too._

_No you can't get with me, and I don't want you,_

_Yes I can and I will if I want to._

_If I-if I want to, if I-if I want to baby._

_If I wanted I could take you from your man – with my eyes closed._

_I could have you eating out of the palm of my hand,_

_And all your little girlfriends too._

_No you can't get with me, and I don't want you,_

_Yes I can and I will if I want to._

_If I-if I want to, if I-if I want to baby._

_That I get what I want, when I want._

_If I wanted I could take you from your man – with my eyes closed._

_I could have you eating out of the palm of my hand,_

_And all your little girlfriends too._

_No you can't get with me, and I don't want you,_

_Yes I can and I will if I want to._

_If I-if I want to, if I-if I want to baby._

Usher If I want to

Lily was rather eager to get away from her parents and sister. She had been soundly berated for her episode the night before. In other words, she couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts.

She found Missy, Joan, Sirius, and Remus in an empty compartment, and sat down next to her best friend. When James walked in, she put down her book so she could glare at him.

When James finally found the right compartment, he strutted in. And was stopped mid-strut. Inside were the Marauders, Missy, Joan, and Lily. And Lily was showing a helluva lot more skin than he was used to seeing her in. She was wearing short jeans shorts and a short blue spaghetti-strap tanktop. What surprised him most was the belly ring. It was a dangly ring with diamonds on it that winked in the sun. It shocked him. 'Lily' and 'belly ring' just don't go together.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a minute, in which James was unable to tear his eyes away from the hypnotizing ring. _I think she's finally lost it. Either that or she's gained it, hard to tell._

Missy broke the silence. "So, James, have you met my best friend, Lily?" she said with false, ditzy brightness.

"We're –erm- acquaintances."

"Missy, you're worrying me, who are you speaking to?" asked Lily, pointedly looking anywhere but at James. She hadn't yet told her friend about the fiasco of the previous night.

"Ah, Lils, this is my best friend James. He's a ghost. But obviously he still has enough blood in his body to blush," said Sirius, playing along with Missy.

And James was definitely blushing. He still couldn't tear his eyes away from the ring.

"Hate to break it to you Sirius, but ghosts aren't this enthralled by shiny objects," Lily told her friend wryly.

"So you _do_ see him!" said Missy with fake excitement, clapping her hands together.

"Of course I can," Lily's voice was so dry it made you kinda want toast… "How could anyone miss that fat head?"

"Lily, we need to talk because there's something you're not telling your best friend," Missy told her, hands on her hips.

"Fine," Lily groaned, dragging her friend outside the apartment.

"Um, hate to burst your bubble, but won't we get in trouble for being out here while the train's moving?"

"Oh, no," Lily said dismissively. "I'm Head Girl." Missy opened her mouth, which Lily promptly covered with her hand. "Do you want to know James's latest screw up or not?" Missy nodded her head, and Lily related the whole thing. Of course, Missy, being the caring, supportive friend she is, had tears of laughter running down her face by the end.

"Oh my God, you snagged your belly ring! That's priceless!"

Once Lily had calmed Missy down sufficiently, they returned to the compartment, where James had quite obviously been telling the same tale. Unfortunately, 1) he didn't know it was Lily's belly ring that had caused her to scream and 2) he wasn't having as much luck calming his listeners because all three listeners were on the floor, gasping for air.

Lily excused herself and went to find out her Head Girl duties. After patrolling, Lily returned to the compartment. Everyone else had on their wizarding robes, so Lily grabbed hers and went off to change. When she sat back down, everyone was staring at her. Remus and Joan with looks of sympathy, Missy and Sirius with looks like Christmas had come early, and James with a look of utter disbelief.

"What?" she asked, looking from one face to the next.

"Um, Lily…" said Joan.

"WHAT?" Lily was semi-scared now. She looked at James. Then she looked _at_ James. "Oh. Dear. God. No! THISISN'THAPPENINGTOME! WHYISTHISHAPPENINGTOME? What the HELL did I do to deserve this?" Because on James's robes was pinned a shiny new Head Boy badge. This meant that Lily would be living with James for the next year.

Missy and Sirius could no longer control themselves. They burst into uncontrolled laughter, as they seem to do so conveniently often. Remus and Joan hid grins behind hands, and James just stared at Lily's badge.

_At least, I HOPE he's staring at my BADGE… But either way, I think I'm gonna be sick!_

They soon arrived at Hogwarts, which was really fortunate because Lily was about to climb out the window. She hated her life. Again. No, wait, still.

A/N: Short and sweet, what can I say. Fluffless, that'll come later, don't get too comfortable! Either you're throwing stuff at your computer because that was so short, or you're going 'thank GOD it's finally over! Why the hell am I reading this, anyway? It's damn boring!' Either way, I'M SORRY, DAMMIT! Does that make you feel better? Oh, and I worship the ground my reviewers walk on. I'd die without you guys! There, that's my fluff for this chappie! grins evilly I know it's not fair, but who the hell said life was fair?


	10. Crying With The Enemy

On the ride in the horseless carriages, Lily's dear and caring friends made sure she had to sit next to James. Lily pointedly looked nowhere but at her feet. James kept staring at her, and it was sort of freaking her out. She imagined all the painful, horrible things she was going to do to her friends first chance she got.

"Would now be a good chance to mention that I'm sorry?" James asked. Lily gave him a look that would have made the happiest sunflower wither. Sirius laughed.

"You're just saying that because now you have to share a common room with her and you're afraid of what she'll do to you!"

"So? She can be evil!"

"And _she_ is getting off this carriage!" Lily shouted, as they had made it to Hogwarts. Lily was saved. Or so she thought.

The feast flew by and soon, Dumbledore was telling the students to report to a prefect to hear their passwords. He asked the new Heads to follow him to the common room they would be sharing. They were lead to a huge painting of Godric Gryffindor on the back of a Hipogriff (sp?).

"Password?" Lily thought for a moment.

"Make it golden Gryffies slaughter snakes," she told it.

"Yes, of course," replied Godric. James raised an eyebrow at her.

"Golden Gryffies slaughter snakes?"

"You have a better one?"

"Well, no," he admitted. Dumbledore just smiled and lead them in.

Lily looked around with her mouth open. The common room was bigger than the Gryffindor common room. It was all gold and red, with squishy couches, a huge fireplace, a bookcase, and even a small kitchen. A staircase lead upward, and the three followed it. At the top, there was a door directly in front of the staircase. Lily opened it to find a marble bathroom. It had two showers, two sinks, a jacuzzi tub, and a separate room for a toilet. On the right and left of the door were short hallways with a door at each end. Lily turned right, to find her room. It was perfect. Deep yellow walls, a bed with a maroon comforter and golden silk sheets, a scarlet couch, a golden rug, and everything else she could possibly need in her bedroom. Dumbledore left with a last word, and Lily fell onto her bed, completely content. Then she remembered who was at the other end of the hall.

"Why does he have to ruin freaking everything?" she muttered to herself. Of course, she didn't have an answer, so she closed her door, locked it, and changed for bed. She lay in bed, thinking about how perfect this would be if she shared it with anyone except James Potter. _Well, actually, he has been acting civil. Besides, another guy might get the wrong idea and try to take advantage of the fact that we share the same quarters. The worst James'll do is hex me. _ Then she remembered what he had done to her the night before. _Did I say civil? I meant egotistical prick. _

Lily had nightmares the rest of the night. At one point, her screaming brought James out of bed, running to her room. He saw she was still sleeping and slunk out the door. She'd have a fit if she found him in her room in the middle of the night.

Lily woke the next morning at five a.m., drenched in sweat. She felt like she hadn't gotten any rest. Her night had been full of horrific nightmares. The kind where you feel this irrepressible danger, and evil makes the air heavy. Someone you love is separated from you, and you think they've been killed. You start screaming for them, then you're falling. Just falling. With no one to catch you because they're dead. Then you wake up. Terrified out of your wits, soaked in sweat, and completely awake, with the sour taste of fear in your mouth.

It was useless to try to sleep, so Lily got up and took a shower. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably, and she kept dropping things, making the process take longer than usual. She finally turned off the scalding water. Using a drying charm on her hair, she tried to remember her dream. She couldn't. She just knew something was wrong. By the time she was dressed and had makeup on, she heard sounds of James stirring in his room.

James shuffled out of his room as Lily left the bathroom. He looked at her oddly.

"Bad dreams last night?"

"What makes you say that?" she asked defensively.

"Because you were screaming all night long. What was it about?"

"Nothing," she told him shortly, fleeing to the common room to read. (A/N: I'm not going to go on about the rest of the day, because you know how it'll go. Lots of boring teachers telling lots of bored students about the importance of their N.E.W.Ts, and assigning long, tedious essays. Just the thought makes me yawn, so I'm going to get to the part I've been waiting to write for a while, but couldn't because I've had all this other stuff to write. I'm going to stop ranting now. Toodles!)

At dinner that night, Lily sat playing with her tomato soup as the mail was delivered. A letter fell in front of her, and she very narrowly saved it from taking a tomato-ey bath. The flowing script on the envelope was blood red. Lily thought the color seemed ominous. The red seal marked it as a letter from the ministry.

Lily, laughing at one of Missy's jokes, opened she envelope and red the letter.

Dear Miss Lily Evans,

I regret to inform you that your parents were killed last night in a muggle attack by the Lord Voldemort. Your possessions will be held safe for you until you see it fit to acquire them.

My deepest sympathies,

Soop Campbell

Minister of Magic

"Oh God, please no," Lily whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks. "NO!"

Missy looked up, startled. "What's wrong?"

Lily jumped up, falling over the bench in her haste to get away, red hair whipping out behind her as she sprinted through the doors at the front of the hall.

James saw the Head Girl leave, red hair whipping behind her like some silken pennant of war. Between her sudden departure, the loud sobs echoing through the hall, and her dreams last night, James decided to make sure she was all right. (A/N: good thing, too…) He stealthily crept after her running form, trying to guess where she was going.

He saw her dash across the courtyard and had to run to keep up with her. He saw a crumpled letter in her hand. He could tell she was running blindly because she was sobbing so hard, but he could also tell she knew where she was going. She tripped over the hem of her robes and fell to the ground. James stayed back so he wouldn't be seen. Lily pushed herself up, red hair clinging to her tear-stained face.

He saw now that she was heading to the astronomy tower. Probably for the peace. They climbed the stairs, James an invisible shadow to the distraught Lily. She opened the door at the top, and he slipped out onto the platform. It was a cloudy, windy day, not the best for being up so high. Lily stumbled over to the waist-high railing and stood on it, bracing herself against a pillar.

"Why?" she screamed into the wind. "I'll tell you why! It's my fault! He doesn't believe muggle-borns should do magic! He was looking for me, but I'd already left for school, so he killed them! They didn't ever do anything to him, but they're dead, and nothing will change that! All this magic I've learned, this magic that was supposed to be so wonderful, it can't save them! It killed them! So I'm giving it up." James realized what she was saying. Then he realized why Lily was up here. He lunged for her half a second to late.

Lily let herself fall over the railing. James's fingers brushed her robes. He threw himself over the railing, hooking his feet on it, and caught her ankle. Thank God. But it wasn't as easy as it should have been. Lily was fighting him, struggling against the hold of his white-knuckled hands on her ankle.

"LET ME GO!"

"NO, DAMMIT, STOP FIGHTING ME!" Lily recognized the voice of her savior/captor and stopped struggling, if only because she was too shocked to move. James Potter had just risked his life to save hers. Now _that_ was screwed up.

James used his strong Quidditch muscles to haul Lily back onto solid rock. She was still sobbing hysterically. He sat down and pulled her close to his body, just letting her cry. She was too far gone to care that it was James Potter who was comforting her.

After a few minutes, she looked up from his wet shirt with hectic, red-rimmed eyes. "You saved my life," she whispered. "Why?"

"We can't very well have Hogwarts's Head Girl jumping off buildings, now can we?" That got a pathetic non-smile out of her.

"Voldemort killed them," she said softly into his chest, dissolving once more into a red-haired puddle.

"Shh, it's going to be okay. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but eventually the pain will lessen."

"How do you know?" she spat at him. "My freaking parents are _dead_! There will be now going home for the holidays for me! I was planning on staying with them for a while after I finished school, but they won't be waiting there for me, smiling and congratulating me! They're _dead_, James, and even your wonderful magic won't bring them back!"

"Lily," he said. "Two years ago, my little sister was murdered. It was going to be her first year at Hogwarts. She was so excited," he remembered, tears rolling down his own face. "Had her wand and everything. Never set it down. Holly. 13 ¼ inches. Long for someone so small. Swishy. Dragon heartstrings. Good for Transfiguration." Lily looked at him, amazed by the fact that James Potter could cry. And was crying in her presence. But the tears rolling down his face were no less than the ones on hers. "Then one night, just before school started, I was supposed to be watching her, and three men freaking apparated into our house. They were going to rob us or something, but Aimee didn't know they were there. So she comes trotting down the stairs, wand out so she could show me how she had already taught herself something. They didn't realize she was eleven freaking years old, and figured she was trying to kill them. Yeah, right. So one of those bastards used the Avada curse on my little sister. All three of them dropped dead without me touching my wand, but it was too late. I was supposed to be watching her!"

Lily just cried more at his story, and he cried, and they sat together crying for hours, murmuring comforts to someone who understood the pain they were going through. Lily had never known she could cry so much, but she obviously could. The tears kept coming, and she didn't try to stop them. Eventually James locked his pain away, as he had been doing for the last two years, and he let Lily cry out all the pain and anger and sense of betrayal. He knew how she felt. And she knew how he felt. She'd eventually learn how to deal with the pain, tone it down a little so it wasn't so overwhelming. But that didn't have to happen tonight. Tonight she could let it go.

Eventually, she fell into a restless sleep in James's arms. She was twitching and muttering incoherently. James picked her up as if she weighed no more than a doll. Considering she was eleven inches shorter than him, who knows how many pounds less, and he played Quidditch, it's a probable theory. He carried her carefully down the stairs and across the courtyard. The entrance doors were shut, and he couldn't open them without setting Lily down, as his wand was in his room. And he certainly wasn't going to set Lily down.

The door opened, and out came Missy and Sirius.

"What'd you do to her?" was their instantaneous, bellowed reaction.

"Shh!" James said, glaring at them. "You'll wake her up, and she certainly doesn't need that right now." His voice was a whisper.

"Uh, Prongs, are you all right?" whispered Sirius, seeing his friend's puff, red-rimmed eyes.

"I'm fine, she's not, now if I could get her into her bed, where she belongs?"

"James, what's wrong with Lily?" Missy also whispered.

"She'll tell you when she wants to. Which will probably when she wakes up, because she'll need friends then," he paused. Her breathing wasn't as regular as it had been. "And you two lunatics have woken her up. Congratulations. I'm putting her to bed now, see you later."

Missy and Sirius stood together, shocked as James carried Lily up to their dormitory.

"Did you put him up to this?" Missy asked her boyfriend.

"Me?" he asked innocently.

"I'm serious!"

"Wait, you can't be Sirius, I'm Sirius!"

"SIRIUS!"

"Fine. No, I didn't put him up to it. I really think James is in love with Lils."

"Wow."

"Yeah, funny thing, love. If you don't look for it, you won't find it, but if you look too hard, you can't see it. You just have to follow your heart."

"Wow, Sirius, that's deep."

"Yeah. That dear Abbey sure knows what she's talking about." Missy rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. Figures.

"You're such a goofball."

"But I'm a hot goofball, right?"

"Real sexy," Missy told him as he tripped over a fallen branch. "Graceful, too."

"Can I ask you a question Missy?"

"Shoot."

"How come you never turn down a date proposed on Monday night?" Missy glared at him.

"Either you were my stalker before we started going out, or you've been talking to Lily. I'm voting for the latter."

"You're forever correct. So, why?"

Missy sighed. "I think it's because Mondays suck. I'm always a little down on Mondays, and being asked out makes me feel, I don't know. Happy and special, I guess. And turning down a date makes me feel even worse, especially on Mondays."

Sirius looked downcast. "Would you have still gone out with me if I _hadn't_ asked you out on Monday?"

"Yes," she replied promptly. "If only because you're a hot goofball," she teased him.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Ha ha," he said dryly.

"I'm serious."

"Oh come on! Do we have to go through this _again_? For the millionth time, _you are NOT Sirius, I am Sirius_! Get it through your head!"

"You are _so_ weird," Missy told her boyfriend.

"But you love me."

"I do, don't I?"

Sirius pulled Missy into a heated kiss, so I'm leaving them to snog in peace. Back to Lily and James! Woohoo!

(A/N: Um, this is like Lily's dream or something. Okay, yeah, well, I know it's her dream, but… you know, whatever, I don't even know why I'm putting an author's note here, my alter ego is confusing me. Now she's telling me not to blame her, YOU ARE SUCH A BITCH, YOU BITCH! Uh, that was directed at her not you… We're leaving now, bye.)

_I was in a dungeon, completely alone. A small group of cloaked figures came in. They reverently parted for a being with a bone white face, and red eyes. Just seeing it terrified me._

"_Join with me, and know power beyond your imagination," it hissed. _

"_I will never join with your evil, I work with the light!" I spat at it._

_It looked annoyed. "Join with me and become a dark princess, my heiress, even though you are a mudblood."_

"_Don't you DARE call me that foul name!" I screamed at it._

_It walked over and put its fingers under my chin, lifting my face up. "I am Voldemort, and I will do whatever I so please." The fingers were icy and hot at the same time, but it was the name that sent shivers down my spine. _

"_You killed my parents, you bastard!" And I spat on him. Literally. Brilliant, huh?_

"_You have too much power for me to let you return. You WILL become a dark witch. I WILL control your power. It's just a matter of molding you to my will. Crucio!"_

_I fell to the damp floor, writhing. It felt as if every particle of my being was flying in different directions, as if my skin were being burned off, frozen off. I bit my lip until it bled, until my teeth met through it. But I wouldn't scream. I wouldn't beg for mercy. I wouldn't go to the dark side. He could torture me, kill me, but I wouldn't give him satisfaction. _

_The pain was unbearable. I felt as if I had no options left. I had to go with him, or give into the pain and die. Then the pain stopped._

Lily sat up, gasping, sobbing, screaming. James came rushing to her side, murmuring comforting things. Lily cried into his shoulder, her body still throbbing from the pain. _But it wasn't real,_ she told herself. _So why do I hurt so badly?_

"Shh, what was the dream about, you can tell me." Lily just shook her head. Whether in denial of the offer, or just with sobs, James couldn't tell, but he held her and stroked her back until she was peacefully asleep once more. Well, okay, not peacefully, since she was still twitching, but whatever. James fell asleep next to her, exhausted from so little sleep the night before, saving Lily's life, and carrying her back to the dorm.

A/N: Omg, six pages, on this one little, okay big, thing! That idea's been cooking in my head for like a month. I mean, you read stories where Lily attempts to console James when he loses his parents, and he tries to commit suicide, yatta yatta yatta. I don't know about you, but I've never read an L/J where Lily's the suicidal one. Therefore I implemented the plan. The fun thing about writing L/Js is that you can't get ppl telling you that you completely screwed up the character's personality b/c no one really knows their personalities. I love the power, mwuahahahahahaha! Okay, I went a little far on breaking Lily's by-the-book, goody two shoes identity with the Animagus thing, but I'm the author and get to do whatever the hell I want! Mwuahahahahahahaha!


	11. Lily Repays James

Disclaimer: Me? J.K.? Actually, that's a good idea! All I have to do is find her private beach, kidnap her, lock her up in a chest, clip her hair now and then for my Polyjuice potion, and I'm set! Thanks for the idea!

Lily opened her eyes, and was thus startled out of her mind. I mean, you would be too if you woke up in bed, seeing your enemy's sleeping face in front of yours. The past day's events came tumbling back to her in a mad rush, causing her to close her eyes against the pain. Her parents were dead. James had saved her life. James's little sister was murdered. He had invited her back to his house when school was through. She had had another dream of Voldemort using the Crucaitus curse on her. She and James were – friends? Funny to think of him as that after years of hating him. Why did she hate him, anyway? Oh yes, he was cruel and evil. Was he? He saved her life, then comforted her. He had opened his heart and home to her. Yes, she could consider them friends. Missy was going to have a ball with this.

She was jerked back to the present. James's hazel eyes were watching her, sharp as a hawk. She tried a smile.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice hoarse, her throat raw.

"I was simply at the right place at the right time," he told her gently.

"Oh yes? And how did you come to be there?"

"I followed you," he said sheepishly.

"Stalker."

"Look, Lily, are you going to be okay?"

Lily sighed. "I'll have to be, won't I? Life will go on, and killing myself won't bring them back. The only thing I can do is finish school, and help bring the end to this Lord Voldemort. I feel foolish and weak now, for attempting to suicide over something I can't change."

"Lily, I have something to show you." He rolled up his sleeves, revealing shiny white scars on his wrists. "When my sister was killed, I cut myself. My mother found me right as things were going black. When I was better, she told me it wasn't my fault, it had nothing to do with me. Lily, all I can tell you, is that it wasn't your fault. Yes, they may have been looking for you, but you and your magic aren't the reasons you are an orphan. It's because Voldemort and his followers are evil. You and I will work together. We'll be the strongest witch and wizard this world has ever seen, and together, we'll bring down this mediocre wizard who thinks someday people will flinch at the sound of his name and call him You-Know-Who or something. That'll never happen, not if we have anything to say about it."

Lily hugged him. "Thank you, James. I don't know where I'd be without you."

"I do. You'd be a flat little red-haired pancake at the bottom of the astronomy tower."

"That's a very good point. Thank you, again." James blushed.

"Like I said before, it's not like we can have you jumping of buildings, now can we?"

"No, we can't have that. Okay, I'm going to take a shower. I feel…tainted." James nodded understanding. "Please don't tell anyone about, you know. I'll tell Missy and Joan, of course, and I guess you can tell the rest of the Marauders, I just don't want people around me all day saying, 'I'm _so_ sorry!' I just want to forget about it. Well, as much as I can, anyway. Like you said, I can't change it. They're in a better place now, I suppose. Besides, you've got a Quidditch game today." James smacked his forehead.

"Against Slytherin! If you're okay, Lils, I'd better be going."

"I'm fine. Well, you know. Go on."

James gave her a daring peck on the cheek and fled quickly, blushing. Lily sat on her bed, dumbstruck, holding her cheek, as he departed. Holy crap! James _kissed_ her! Yes, just on the cheek, but still! Lily numbly walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She turned the shower on as hot as it would go and stepped into the scalding rush of water. It felt as if her skin was being blistered off, much like the Crucaitus curse. Before her body got used to the temperature, Lily turned it as cold as it would go, sending the icy water cascading about her. Before she was accustomed to it, she turned it back to burning. For an hour, she alternated between the extremes, never giving herself a chance to get used to the water, shocking her body every few minutes. That's how she wanted it. Shocking, never feeling good.

While she was braiding her hair into pigtails with black ribbons, Lily heard James come back upstairs to change into his Quidditch robes. Lily put her Hogwarts robes and stepped outside. James was heading down the stairs just as he was. He looked at her lobster-red skin that had goosebumps on it with a strange expression, but didn't say anything.

"Shall we, milady?" He asked, offering his arm like a gentleman.

"Gladly, milord." She said, placing her hand gracefully on top of his. And so their friends found them, strolling the halls, talking like the English people of old.

"Oh my God Lils, are you all right? You look like shit," Missy said.

Lily decided to tell her friends later. She didn't want to ruin the happy atmosphere.

"No, I'm not all right, but I will be," she said, giving James a brave look. "It's not something I can change." She wiped away a couple of rogue tears.

"Lily, really, what happened?" Joan asked.

"I'll explain it later, it's not really something I want to talk about just yet."

Missy gave her a look and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by James.

"Gotta run," he said.

"Good luck," was the general statement made as James, Sirius, and Missy headed off to the Quidditch pitch. Lily, to everyone's surprise except her own and James's, gave the said dude a hug before he went off. Lily gave the others a don't-ask-because-if-I-told-you-I'd-kill-you-even-though-I-don't-have-to look. And no one asked. They climbed up the stands where Remus forced his way through the crowd so they could have front-row spots.

Some random Gryffindor was doing the commentary. "Today we have Gryffindor versus Slytherin! I give you GRYFFINDOR! Missy Lane—Chaser and Captain! Lucy Belle —Chaser! Gregg Standon—Chaser! Kady Wood—Keeper! Sirius Black—Beater! James Potter—Beater! And last but _certainly_ not least, Ruthy Johnson—SEEKER!" The correctly named blurs zoomed out on their brooms, Sirius and James brandishing their clubs. "And of course," said the announcer, with much less enthusiasm, "Slytherin. Macnair—Chaser. Lestrange—Chaser. Parkinson—Chaser. Malfoy—Keeper. Goyle—Beater. Crabbe—Beater. Black—Seeker." The Slytherins flew out to considerably less applause than did the Gryffindors. Bellatrix threw them icy glares, then flew to hover next to her boyfriend.

Madame Hoonky opened the chest, carefully avoiding the bludgers. James and Sirius were on the balls in the blink of an eye, their first targets being Malfoy for James and Bellatrix for Sirius.

"Belle—Lane—Standon—Lane—Standon—Belle—Lane—Score Gryffindor! Parkinson—Macnair—Wood makes a nice save! Belle—Standon—Lane—watch out there, Missy!" she narrowly ducked a bludger which Sirius then proceeded to basically beat the crap out of, finally nailing Malfoy in the face with it. "Lestrange steels from Standon—Malfoy— Parkinson—Belle steals back!" the crowed roared its approval after booing the Slytherins. "And Gryffindor scores! BLOODY HELL!"

The horrified crowd watched as James raced to Ruthy, who had a bludger heading straight for her as she dove for the snitch. James was flat out on his broom, club raised, defying time to reach his teammate. He was too late. The bludger snapped Ruthy's broom, and as she was diving at an incredible speed, she screamed, hitting the ground with a sickening crack. Missy signaled for a time-out as Madame Lazora rushed out onto the field, medi-kit in hand. The team landed on the ground and ran to their unconscious Seeker. Ruthy looked as if she had quite a few broken bones, and a very bad concussion.

"I'm afraid Miss Johnson will not be finishing this match," said Madame Lazora, magicing Ruthy onto a stretcher.

"But we need her!" cried Missy. "We can't play Quidditch without a Seeker, and they can't stop the game!" Madame Lazora was already heading away, an unconscious Ruthy floating behind her. "What are we going to do?" Missy asked, turning to her team.

"James, heads up!" someone yelled from the stands. A bottle of water came flying out of the air, and James caught it without turning a hair. Lucy gaped.

"Remus!" she screamed. "Get down here now!" A minute later, when Remus arrived, Missy continued. "You've been practicing, so you have to take James's spot. He's going to be our Seeker."

"I'm what!"

Missy grabbed the collar of his robes and pulled him down until his face was level with hers (thirteen inches lower). "You've got the best reflexes on this team, so you're Seeker if I say you're Seeker," she said menacingly (or as menacingly as anyone can be when they don't even come up to the shoulders of the person they're intimidating. I'm 5'3", and in this position ALL THE TIME! ).

"Uh, Missy," said James, trying to suppress a laugh. "Shouldn't the Seeker be, you know, _small_?"

"I'm captain, and you'll do whatever the hell I tell you Potter!" she yelled, letting James go. "Now get on your freaking broom and find the freaking snitch so we can end this freaking game!"

"Yes ma'am," he said meekly. Sirius grinned.

"Try having to obey her _all_ the time." Missy glared at him. 'It's hell!' Sirius mouthed at James, grinning as Missy smacked him with her oh-so-handy broom.

"Hey babe, don't disable your personal Beater, I might not be so quick to beat a bludger out of your way next time," he teased.

"For your information, I had to duck the damn ball, so stop while you're behind. We've got a game to play."

James mounted his broom with everyone else, a little shaky. He hadn't played Seeker before, and didn't know how well he'd do. Missy seemed to have confidence that he had the best reflexes, but she was also Sirius's girlfriend, if that says anything (A/N: in other words, she's LoOnY. I kinda made her off my own personality ). James flew overhead, circling, looking for the glint of gold, not paying attention to the commentary. Bellatrix dove, but James knew she was feinting. He saw the snitch.

He raced across the pitch, flat on his broom, heading for that small speck. All of a sudden, he was forced to turn aside as a bludger came straight at him. He looked back, but the snitch was gone. And the damn bludger wasn't. Crap. It attempted to smash his face in, but he dove, hoping to get Sirius's or Remus's help. The bludger sped behind him; if he slowed down, it'd plow right into him. He heard someone yell something about a rogue bludger (A/N: What's with Potters and rogue bludgers? Lol).

James soared up again, causing the bludger to smash into the stands (not the people, mind you…) Again, he saw the snitch. It was flying straight upwards. James followed it, his broom vertical as he soared into the skies. Higher and higher. All he could see were gray clouds and that tiny golden snitch. Something else entered his awareness as he stretched out his hand, the snitch almost within his grasp. The bludger was back. Crap. James lunged, and caught one of the snitch's wings. It struggled madly, and he managed to stick it in a pocket, not believing that he had actually caught the snitch.

Just then, the bludger decided it was tired of waiting. It smashed into James's shoulder with a force that shattered his shoulder blade instantly and forced him forward. His head cracked against his broom, rendering himself unconscious. He fell from his broom, which the bludger found more interesting than the falling boy, and proceeded to smash to pieces.

Lily watched James soar straight into the air, knowing he had seen the snitch. She slyly pulled out her compact and held it so the sun bounced off it. As Lily had hoped, Bellatrix raced over, thinking she saw the snitch. Lily grinned at the enraged Slytherin. Bellatrix flew away, cursing Gryffindors, while Joan giggled madly. Lily straightened suddenly. What was that little black speck? James returning already? The little figure came speedily closer, and was soon recognizable as someone wearing Gryffindor Quidditch robes in freefall.

Lily screamed, pointing. Others looked up as well, and there were plenty of terrified shrieks as it became known that it was raining Quidditch players. Lily stood on a bench and raised her shaking wand, following James's downward progress.

"_Arresto Momentum!"_ she shouted, praying it would work. He seemed to slow down considerably, landing on the ground with only a small amount of force. "James!" Lily attempted to shove people out of her way, but they were too tightly packed. She wanted to scream her frustration. Instead, she screamed, "Accio Broomstick!" One came zooming to her, and she gracefully flew to where James lay, rather unconscious.

The second Lily landed, she was running. She knelt behind James and gently turned him over. His face was scratched from the ground, and he had a bloody nose from where he hit his broomstick. His right shoulder was quite obviously broken.

"James," she sobbed. "Don't you _dare_ leave me! I can't lose anyone else right now, you know that! Wake up, please!"

As Professor McGonagall raced out, her hat flying off in her haste, James's eyes fluttered open. He gave Lily a grin/wince, and began digging in his pockets with his left hand, pulling out a struggling snitch, as if that were the most important thing at the moment.

"James Potter has caught the snitch!" yelled the unknown announcer kid. "Gryffindor wins, 250 to 10! Take that you Slytherin bastards!" Unfortunately, as McGonagall was on the field with James and Lily, she couldn't keep the kid from dissing the Slytherins.

"Oh my God, James," Lily whispered. "I thought…"

"Please don't finish that sentence," he told her softly. "I don't want to think about it."

McGonagall magiced up a stretcher for James, and levitated him to the hospital wing, beaming because her house had just won the game, jabbering at James while Lily glared at her for being so happy.

"Really, Potter, to think you'd never played Seeker before! I don't know why no one thought of it before! Spectacular, you were! Lucky for you Miss Evans has a good eye, though." At James's questioning noise, she explained. "You were hundreds of feet in the air when that bludger attacked you. None of us could see what was happening. Then Miss Evans saw you falling out of the sky and alerted the students, but she was the only one who thought enough to slow down your speed. If it weren't for her, we'd be shoveling you up of the pitch right now. Pity about your broom, though."

"What happened to my broom?"

"It was—er—sacrificed," said Lily. "After the bludger hit you, it attacked your broom. Good thing, too, or you might've been—dead—before you hit the ground."

They had reached the Hospital wing, and Madame Lazora ushered the three inside, setting James up on a bed near Ruthy, who was still unconscious.

"All right, Potter, drink this." James looked at the cup warily, as all students regard drinks given to them by healers. "Drink it all." James pulled a face and tipped back the liquid with a cringe. Of course, it sent him to sleep immediately. The healer gave James the old once-over, muttering to herself. "Yes, yes, shattered shoulder blade… cracked collarbone… broken arm… deep bruising… broken nose… concussion… black eyes… No internal damage?" She looked at McGonagall. "How far did this boy fall?"

"We don't really know. None of us could see him, but Miss Evans caught sight of him as he was falling. She slowed him down. The damage you'll find will most likely be done by the bludger." Madame Lazora shook her head.

"Horrible sport, Quidditch. See all sorts of injuries from it. A broken bone would heal in no time, but with this much to do; it'll be a few hours before he's healed completely. All right, out you go." She attempted to usher McGonagall and Lily out.

"I'm staying," said Lily, shocking McGonagall.

"I thought you hated Mr. Potter, Miss Evans?" McGonagall said with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a long story," Lily told her quietly. "We're friends now. He saved my life, I saved his. I'm not leaving."

"Very well then. I'll let Mr. Black and Miss Lane know where you are." Lily nodded and pulled a chair up next to James. McGonagall left and Madame Lazora withdrew into her office, closing the door.

Lily succumbed to tears. Tears for her parents, tears for James, tears for almost losing James, tears for herself for being so lost and alone. But was she alone? What about James, Missy, Sirius, Remus, and Joan? No, she wasn't alone. Then why did she feel so lonely?

"Lily, are you okay?" Gasped Missy, rushing to her best friend with Sirius at her side.

Lily shook her head. "No, I'm not, Missy. Voldemort, he—he killed my parents!" Missy was open-mouthed with horror. She had known Lily's parents since she and Lily first started attending Hogwarts and became best friends. They were like her second family.

"Oh God, Lils," Missy whispered, putting her arms around her best friend. Sirius wordlessly put a hand on her shoulder.

"So, you know, something like that isn't easy to handle," she continued, still sobbing. "And I—I jumped off the Astronomy Tower."

"You did WHAT?" bellowed Sirius. Missy glared at him.

"I couldn't handle it. It was just too much. And James, you see, followed me. He caught me after I jumped. I owe him my life," she said quietly, the tears coming ever faster now that they were talking about her attempted suicide. "So James pulled me up and—comforted me, told me… things. He let me know that it would eventually be okay. But killing myself wouldn't help anyone. He should know," she said with a crooked non-smile. Sirius nodded understanding, but Missy just looked confused. "So then last night, I had another Voldemort nightmare," now it was Missy's turn to be knowing and Sirius's turn to be confused. "And when I saw James falling, it terrified me out of my wits. After he helped me so much, what was there for me to live for if he died? He kept me alive, there is no way I would be able to live if something happened to him. Now you're up to speed," she said, attempting to wipe away some of her tears.

"Oh my God, Lily, I just… I don't know what to say," Missy whispered, hugging Lily.

"That's okay, because James knows what to say."

"Lily, I'm really sorry about all this. If there's anything I can do," Sirius told her gently.

"No, I'm good. It'll just take me a little while to get adjusted."

"What are you going to do? You know, for Christmas and after school ends," Missy asked gently.

"Oh, well, James invited me back to his house, so I won't be homeless or anything."

"Great! I'm going too!" whooped Sirius. Lily gave him a look. "Well, I ran away from my home in fourth year. Samantha and Patrick were already sort of my second family, so they welcomed me into their home, and I've been living with the Potters ever since."

"Sirius, sometimes you can be so insensitive," Missy said, glaring at her boyfriend.

"It's okay Miss, I need to forget about this as much as I can. Moping won't bring them back, and it certainly won't make me feel better."

Madame Lazora came in and rushed the three out, despite Lily's protests. Once assured Lily would be okay, Missy and Sirius headed down to dinner, but only because Lily threatened to hex them if they didn't. The very thought of food made her want to throw up, even though she hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before. She wandered back to the portrait to the Heads common room.

"Password," Godric told her.

"Request to change password."

This time the _Hipogriff_ spoke. "Old password."

"Golden Gryffies slaughter snakes."

"New password."

"Death by heights." Lily knew she had to be reminded constantly of what she almost did. She had to remember that it wasn't worth it. That she had to go on.

The portrait opened and Lily stumbled inside. And realized she didn't have her emotions under as much control as she thought. She broke down sobbing and had the intense urge to break stuff. Lily raced into her room, and was uncomforted by what she saw. Scarlet and gold weren't very becoming to this room at the moment.

Lily proceeded to turn the walls black, the rug blood red. Her sheets were black silk, her comforter still scarlet. Once the entire room was red and black, she collapsed onto her bed. Then she felt it. The urge to break things turned into an urge to break herself. To jump off something, or find a sharp knife. She held onto a pillow as tightly as she could, as if it anchored her to reality, and if she let go she would die. The room seemed to sway back and forth, and Lily passed out.

Missy and Sirius were returning from the great hall, intending to swing by the hospital wing, then stop in and check up on Lily. They found a groggy James just barely awake.

"Gave us a right scare there, mate," Sirius told him.

"Great job though," said Missy, beaming. "We creamed the Slytherins! You should have seen the look on old Lucious's face when he saw you had the snitch!"

"You're one lucky bastard Prongs."

"I know. If it wasn't for Lily, they'd probably still be shoveling me into buckets right now." He suddenly, and very startlingly, sat bolt upright. "When's the last time you saw Lily?"

"Uh, she went off to the dorm just before dinner, why?" Missy told him

James was positively shaking. "Something's wrong. I can feel it."

"James, are you all right?" Sirius was looking at his friend with concern.

"Yeah, but something's wrong, we've got to go."

"Uh, James? You're in the bloody hospital wing for a reason." Missy was sure the boy had taken a blow on the head that had knocked his little bit of sense completely free from his body.

Without another word, James got up and half-ran to the portrait of Godric Gryffindor on a Hipogriff. "Golden Gryffies slaughter snakes," James told it.

"Sorry, password's been changed," said Godric mercilessly. Oh crap. That wasn't good.

Missy and Sirius caught on to James's panic. I mean, he was kind of radiating it.

"What could she have changed it to?"

Missy stepped in, as the voice of reason. "Okay, think. She probably changed it to have something to do with what has happened recently. But it would have been something you two share in common, I think. Let's see… Well, you've both lost someone you loved dearly, but that sounds a little morose for Lils. Well, this last twenty-four hours, you've both almost died. That's it!" The boys looked at her expectantly. "You both almost died, but there was a similar factor in your near-death experiences—heights!"

"Missy, you're a genius! I could kiss you, but Sirius would kill me," James told her. Sirius did the favor for him.

When Missy had pushed Sirius off of her, she turned to the portrait. "Death by heights."

The portrait swung open slowly, ominously. And what lay inside caused the trio to gasp. The common room was in total disarray. Actually, it was a total disaster.

The bookcase was overturned and splintered into pieces. A lamp lay shattered on the floor. Ripped cushions spewed stuffing everywhere. Picture frames lay shattered on the floor. Lily's bedroom door was off its hinges.

Most noticeable was the trail of blood on the floor.

A/N: Cliffie? What Cliffie? I don't see a cliffie. Weird, hallucinating reviewers. Oh crap! I didn't just say that! Please forgive me! I'm unworthy of your reviews, but please leave one anyway! grins evilly Now you are at my mercy because you have to wait to see what happened. Muahahahahahahahahahahaha! Fine! Don't worry, I'm already in the process of writing it.


	12. The Truth of What Happened to Lily

A/N: as you may have noticed in the last chapter, I don't do well with serious writing. Elli pointed out one HUGE thing where I averted the attention from Lily's dead parents to something else: I did the cliché and cheesy line where Lily's all 'I suppose they're in a better place now', but then interrupts herself by saying 'besides, you have a Quidditch game today', and other things like that. I'm sorry, that's who I am. You'll see more of that in this chapter, extremely noticeable when Lily is talking to… uh, just read it before I give something away coughhellokittycough have fun!

The trio simultaneously raced into the room. James headed to check Lily's room, Missy the bathroom, and Sirius James's room. Lily's room startled the hell out of James. It was no longer scarlet and gold, but blood red and black. And white. White feathers of her lacerated duvet and exploded pillows covered everything. Things were overturned, anything breakable was shattered. It looked as if someone had gone mad in this room.

James backed out, still stunned. He went to the bathroom that Missy was searching. It was perfect, pristine. As was James's own bedroom. But where was Lily?

"Accio Marauder's map!" said Sirius, reading James's mind. (A/N: why does Sirius do that? First with Missy, now James. I mean, come one, is he a freaking psychic or something? Lol.) The map zoomed in, landing in Sirius's hand.

"This could take a while," sighed James. Missy grinned.

"Or not." She leaned close to the map and whispered, "Lily Arianna Evans."

A second later, neat print scrawled across the page, spelling: _Not in the castle._

James and Sirius were wide-eyed. "How did it do that? We created this thing!" said Sirius. Missy grinned.

"Well, Lily and I knew about the Map, and we decided you boys were rather stupid for not magicing it to find a person for you. So, one night, we were bored, and decided to help you out a bit with your lovely project there. It needs a woman's touch. Won't answer to you boys."

"Okay, can we PLEASE get back to the subject here!" shouted James. "If Lily isn't in the castle, where is she? We've got to find her, especially if that blood's hers."

Missy leaned back down to the map. "Is Lily Arianna Evans on Hogwarts grounds?"

_No._

Missy paled. "If she isn't in the castle, and she's not on the grounds…" she looked up. "Maybe we're reading this room wrong. What if Lily didn't wreck the room out of sorrow? What if it was a struggle?"

James turned as white as Nearly Headless Nick. "We've got to find Dumbledore."

"How are we going to explain the map?"

"Crap. We can tell him a graduating student gave it to us in our first year. He'll know the truth, but the won't push it."

"Alright," said Missy. Unfortunately, Dumbledore's office was on the other side of the castle. The three Quidditch players looked at each other. "ACCIO BROOMSTICK!" And sure enough, three broomsticks came zooming around the corner.

(A/N: wanna know what happened to Lily? Here it is)

Okay, so last we checked, Lily was clinging to her pillow for dear life. Right? Good, we're on the same track. The room swirled around Lily, making her feel as if she were on a demented Merry-Go-Round. She didn't see them at first because they blended into her newly black walls. Then she heard the voices.

"Yes, we've got her now," said one venomnous voice.

"The Dark Lord will be quite pleased with us," another voice hissed.

"Take her wand, it's right there," yet another voice commanded.

Lily grabbed her wand, which was sitting on her bedside table. The spinning of the room slowed down as she looked up. About seven masked and cloaked figures were gathered around her bed. It was hard to count because she was still dizzy. They all had wands pointing at her.

"Come, now."

"You will be taught magic beyond your wildest dreams, even though you are a mudblood."

"The Dark Lord wants you brought to him immediately."

"Put. The. Wand. _Down._"

"Who are you?" she asked, keeping her wand up.

"We are servants of the Dark Lord. We are going to take you to him."

"Like hell you are," she told them.

Lily shot every curse, hex, and jinx she knew at them. Of course, they threw everything short of the killing curse at her. Her room really was becoming quite trashed. Lily was dodging all sorts of spells. She ducked out of the room and into the common room, where this show resumed. She had been hit with a quite a few curses, and they hurt like hell. One opened a long gash on her leg, and the blood was dripping onto the floor. (A/N: ah, the mystery blood!)

Finally one of the figures hit her with the Crucaitus curse. Lily fell to the floor, writhing with a pain she knew all too well from her dreams. While she was down, another one hit her with a stunner.

(A/N: Shall I go on, or leave this insanely short chappie to bug you? Hmmm. Let's see… Guess you'll just have to find out, won't you?)

(A/N: here you go, thanks for being patient!)

Lily woke with the worst headache she'd ever had. Every muscle in her body throbbed. She had no idea where she was. She opened her eyes, and guess what she saw. Go on, guess. Yep, a ring of the masked and cloaked figures. They surrounded the walls of the circular dungeon she lay in the middle of. The floor was slick and shiny. It'd be difficult to run, and the cloaked people would surely catch her in a millisecond.

She lifted her pounding head and saw the bone white face and red eyes of her dreams. In her dreams, this thing had tortured her. She didn't know if she was about to, because she always woke up. This wasn't a dream. She wouldn't join him. He would kill her. Was she afraid? Hell yes. She was afraid of this murderous—thing. But if she died, she died for a good cause, and she'd be with her parents again. No, she was not afraid. She was angry, lonely, and shaking in her shoes, but she was not afraid.

Lily struggled to her feet, quite aware that she was wandless. Then she saw Voldemort had it. Goody. This should be interesting. She knew it wouldn't play out _exactly_ as it did in her dreams, because in her dreams, she didn't know who this was. She did now.

"Mudblood, it is a great honor for you to so much as be in the Dark Lord's presence," said a cloaked figure. "Kneel before him."

Lily laughed outright. "How about…no."

Someone cast the Imperious curse on Lily. Lily had a lot of rage in her right now, and easily fought it off. Voldemort raised his hand for the man to stop.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked.

Lily suppressed the urge to shudder. "Lemme guess… What other murderous, evil, and dark beings are attempting to rule the world right now…? OH MY GOD IT'S HELLO KITTY!" she got some really odd looks. "Okay, maybe not. Oh, there was this one other guy, I just can't seem to remember his name," she taunted. "Voldywarts? Wartymold? Scumoftheearth? Oh, right, I've got it now, Voldemort!"

The cloaked figures hissed. "How dare you say the Dark Lord's name!"

"What, Hello Kitty?" again, odd looks. "Oh, right, Voldemort?" they hissed. "Volde-mort, Volde-mort, Volde-mort!" Lily chanted like a little girl.

"Stop!" said Voldemort, getting a headache. "Okay, if we could get back to where I tell you how I'm going to make you a dark witch and all?"

"Oh, right, sorry," said Lily. "Proceed."

"Thank you. Anyway, _as I was saying_, join me and have power beyond your imagination. You will be my heiress, the dark princess, even though you _are_ a Mudblood."

Lily rolled her eyes, rather bored by this routine by now. "Normally, I'd get all offended and yell and scream at you not to call me that, but, whatever. I mean, I've heard that name so many times, I'd think the master of evil would have something better up his sleeve, so continue."

"Right, so, you WILL become a dark witch whose powers I control. I will use you for my own purposes, and you will become ALMOST as great as me."

"And if I don't want to join this happy little brigade?"

"You don't have a choice."

Lily laughed outright at him. "You'd be surprised, wouldn't you, but I do. I mean, I know what's going to happen. I say yeah, sure I'd _love_ to be almighty and stuff, and you say goody, goody, then you torture me to make me evil. I say know and you torture me until I die. Not a whole lot of choice, but there's definitely a choice."

"Fine, you pigheaded little bitch. But in the end, you'll be screaming for death and mercy. They all do."

"Whatever. If we're going to do the whole pain thing, please get it over with." Lily was sweating; dreading the pain she knew would come.

"Become my heiress."

"No," was the gritted word.

Now Voldemort was just plain pissed. I mean, come on, this little 5'4" girl was outright refusing the master of evil. You'd be pissed too!

"Forsake the light and come to the dark side!"

"No," when Lily said this, she met his eyes.

"Crucio!"

Lily fell to the floor, writhing. It felt as if she were being stabbed by millions of daggers that burned with an icy fire. Tears flooded down her face. She couldn't take much more. And it stopped. She lay gasping like a fish out of water, unable to move, but managed to glance at her watch. A minute and a half of pain. Holy shit.

"Join me."

"No," she croaked. Damn the stubbornness of redheads!

Again, the pain washed over her in waves. She felt herself losing her grip. Her grip on why she was saying no, her grip on sanity, her grip on life. _No, I will not give in. I will not give up. I'm going to survive this._ It seemed like an eternity later, but the wracking pain stopped. Her nose was bleeding. Two minutes this time. By now Lily was wondering what the record survival time under the Crucaitus curse was. She had a bad feeling she was nearing it.

"I do not want to kill you, you are too useful to me. But I will do it. You have too much power for me to let you return to the light. If you don't join me, you _will_ die."

"Don't… you… think…. I… know… that?" Lily gasped out.

"So, does your answer remain?"

Lily glared. "You're going to kill me no matter what I say bastard, so it doesn't really matter what my answer is, does it?"

"Ooh, a smart one. Too bad I do have to kill her. Oh well, there's more where she came from. Crucio!"

_**Go on, Lily. Just say it. Beg for mercy. He may still let you live**. No he won't you know it. I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of begging. **Just do it. Scream for mercy. He'll give it to you**. Okay. NO. I can't go to the dark side. **Oh come on, what's to lose?** Nothing, I guess, my parents are dead. Because HE killed them! **How can you be sure? The minister of magic is off his rocker, he may have just assumed it was Voldemort.** You may be right. I mean, what HAVE I got to lose? Oh yeah. James. Missy. Sirius. Joan. Remus. What about them?** What about them? They really have nothing to do with this. **But they do. What will happen to them if I die? **They'll go on with their happy little lives. Just let go. You can do it. Just let it all go.** Okay._

Lily's schizophrenic conversation was ended abruptly. (A/N: yes, she was having a schizophrenic conversation. She WAS losing her grip on sanity, remember?) She started coughing up some sort of liquid. Amidst the pain-induced convulsions, Lily managed to turn over on her hands and knees, coughing and hacking. She opened her eyes to see that she was coughing up blood. Oh shit, that couldn't be good. But the pain was still going.

_That's it, I'm through. _She looked at her watch. THREE FREAKING MINUTES! _I don't think any human could live through this much longer. Why should I? **I knew you'd understand it eventually. We just can't win against something like this. No one can.**__And you were right. I was a fool for thinking I could overcome this. _

As Lily closed her eyes for one last time (?), Voldemort's evil laugh rang through the chamber.

A/N: I know, that was mean. Another cliffie. I'm sorry, but I like to make sure you're coming back. grins evilly I can't help it! 'sides, I'm working on another fanfic right now. Told from the POV of an OC, James's best friend. Mwuahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Anyway, did I screw with the future and kill Lily? You decide! Jk, I already know what's gonna happen. Sorry. R&R or I'll send my evil purple elephant after you!


	13. To Live or to Die is to Stay or to Fly

A/N: OMG, I HAVE REVIEWERS! If you left me a review, look for your name right…here:

**Clueless Bystander: **Yes, Elli, you are my first reviewer, go u. I said I worship my _reviewers_, not my stalkers. :insert evil grin: I'm sorry that you don't like that I'm working so much on Aliep's story, but you'll have to deal. You are at my mercy! Muahahahahahahhahahahahahahaha!

**Robbie cupcake-girl:** So glad you liked it!

**James+lily4eva:** I'll update, don't worry. Well, if you're reading this, I've updated, so…

**Waterfaerie15:** THANK U FOR THINKING I'M FUNNY! I wanted my fic to have lots of hilarity in it. :insert evil grin: did I do a good job?

**Butlerphan666: **You must be the only person on earth who likes cliffies. THANK YOU!

**S:** Thanks for reviewing! Sorry this took so long….

**Mkiara:** So you really think it's good? Wow. THANK U MUCH!

**Jordie:** I think you've finally lost it Shorty. I am SO not better than JK! I think El and I should take you to have your head examined… Either that or I'll pay to have El examine your head. NOT THE PINK ELEPHANT!

**Momjii:** Encouragement is good! It keeps me writing! Actually, that's not true. The little Lily, James, Missy, Sirius, Joan, and Remus in my head keep me writing, but only because they threaten to blast their stereo if I don't let them out…

**Nerdysunny:** I agree that cliffies should be banished to Siberia. I think together, we could do it! Meet me in the Forbidden Forest on the 32 of May. Bring a Hello Kitty crowbar, a packet of cheesy ranch flavoring, a can of neon yellow spray paint, flesh-eating slug repellent, a watermelon blowpop, a blue butterfly net and last, but not least, two wands. One made of rosewood, swishy, good for charms, dragon heartstrings. The other willow, bendy, good for transfiguration, hair of veela. Ooh, and lots of chocolate in cough case of cough dementors. See you there!

**Karatekid:** I'm sorry, Lily's not a cutter. Yet. I mean, she could be a cutter if you wanted. But I didn't write her has a cutter. But I could write her as a cutter. Well, what I mean is, well, actually I don't know what I mean…

**Denierure/Deni: **Sorry about the cussing. I'll try to limit it, but they ARE seventeen years old, and this IS rated T.

**WoodsKeeper:** :insert evil grin: sorry about the commitment issues thing. Yes, you must update! Or I'll send my evil purple elephant after you, even though you DID review!

**Steelo:** Okay, so my computer won't let me fix the chappie, so I'm going to do this: **_STEELO WAS THE FIRST TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE NEXT PERSON WHO SO MUCH AS MENTIONS GREEN TO LILY! GO STEELO!_** Happy? I think my ability to write comedy comes from the fact that I have a very sarcastic nature, and am constantly making remarks that make ppl laugh, so I just used my sense of evil humor to do to my characters what I would do to my friends and enemies if I had a wand. Oh, I am SO insane! It's funny really. I keep my friends laughing, so it's all good. And I DID get some sleep, GO ME! I slept from seven o'clock at night to twelve the next day. I was awake for TWO hours, then fell back to sleep until nine the next morning. I was really surprised. Go me.

**Lynser:** Actually, I believe James was a Seeker. 'Cause, you know, they said Harry was a great Seeker, just like his dad, then in the fifth book, James kept playing with the Snitch in the flashback-thingy. I just thought it'd be cooler if James and Sirius, the troublemakers of MWPP time were beaters, just like Fred and George, the troublemakers of HHR time.

**Lupinsiriusluva: **I like making men suffer, too. I've had this idea in my head for months. Hope you like it!

"Professor Dumbledore!" shouted James, Sirius, and Missy as they saw the Headmaster on his way to the Great Hall. He turned, eyes twinkling as he saw three students on brooms zooming towards him.

"Yes?"

"Lily's been kidnapped," James said frantically.

"Are you sure?" asked Dumbledore sharply, all trace of twinkle gone.

"Positive. You see, the map is never wrong, and it said she wasn't in the castle, or on the grounds, and her room and the common room are completely and totally destroyed, and there's blood all over the floor," said James, very quickly, not bothering to explain about the map. And Dumbledore didn't ask.

"Then we must find her. It must be Voldemort who took her, as he's the one who killed her parents. This isn't good. How did they get on Hogwarts grounds?"

James raced through the dungeons in his invisibility cloak. Dumbledore had placed a tracking spell on Lily after Voldemort killed her parents. He activated the spell, and they were lead to this place. But where was Lily? James's heart pounded in his throat. _Please let her be okay. She has to be okay. She will be okay._ He followed his instincts to a door at the end of an insanely long hallway.

The door was covered in spells of every sort. James blasted it off, not caring if anyone heard it. In the middle of a shiny floor lay an unmoving figure with red hair dressed in black Hogwarts robes.

"Lily," James whispered hoarsely, rushing over to the figure. She was deathly white. He saw a pool of blood on the floor, and blood had soaked the robes around one of her legs. It was running out of her nose and out the corner of her mouth. He touched her. Ice cold. James put his head in his hands. "No," he sobbed.

"I knew you'd be here soon enough," hissed a voice. James turned. His hectic, red-rimmed eyes met ruby red ones.

"Voldemort," he growled. Okay, James was pissed.

"When I sent my death eaters to bring you to me, you killed them. Now you willingly run to me. Interesting."

James was confused for a moment. Then he realized that two years ago, the men who apparated into his house had come for him. He was the reason his sister was dead. No, it was Voldemort. It was Voldemort's fault.

"I do not run to you," he said thickly. "I came to reclaim what doesn't belong to you."

"Oh, the mudblood belongs to no one but death now," laughed Hello Kitty. I mean Voldemort.

More tears flooded down James's face. "One day, you will meet your downfall. And when you do, I hope I'm there to see it."

"You are weak, Potter," spat Voldemort. "Love is a weakness."

"On the contrary. Love is strength. Crucio!" Okay, so James is really pissed. His Crucaitus curse did a lot of damage. Voldemort writhed on the ground while James picked up Lily's limp body and hightailed it out of there. Tears blinded him as he fled. Lily, his only reason to live, was dead. (A/N: just keep reading…) He heard Voldemort call to his death eaters to go after James, but he didn't pay attention.

Sirius and Missy ran around the corner. "James, over here!" shouted Sirius. James grabbed onto the old hat Sirius and Missy were both clutching. The portkey transported them all back to Hogwarts.

Once safely in the halls, James collapsed to the floor, shoulders hunched, body racked with sobs, defeated. Sirius and Missy took one look at Lily's still form and understood. Sirius held his girlfriend as she sobbed against his chest, tears rolling down his own face.

Dumbledore came strolling around the corner and stopped when he saw the quartet. He knelt wordlessly beside Lily and picked up her wrist, shocked by how cold it was. He cleared his throat.

"Assumptions, Mr. Potter, are never viable." James looked confused, then his eyes widened. He picked up Lily's body once again, and sprinted down the hall, Sirius and Missy close behind.

"Madame Lazora!" he bellowed as they came near the Hospital Wing. He rushed inside. The nurse was about to tell him that she had patients who needed peace and quiet, when she saw James's burden.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Kidnapped by Voldemort. Tortured." James managed to gasp out.

"I can't do anything for her. This is the work of the Crucaitus curse. She needs to be taken to St. Mungo's." James's, Missy's, and Sirius's eyes widened. Madame Lazora ran to her office and came back, holding yet another portkey. "You," she said, pointing to James. "Take her. This will transport you in five seconds." She tossed the portkey to James who caught it and held onto Lily. He landed in St. Mungo's lobby.

"Help!" he called. A healer rushed over. "Lily Evans, Crucaitus curse," James told the woman. Lily was pried from his grasp against his protests. Someone force-fed him chocolate. James distantly wondered if the man was related to Remus in any way. It did make him feel better. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Missy, Joan, Sirius, and Remus appeared.

The seven of them sat in the lobby, not talking, for three hours. James was bone white and shaking, and both Remus and Sirius were holding their sobbing girlfriends. Finally a healer came out.

"Lily Evans?" she asked. They nodded. "There's not much we can do for her. She was under the curse long enough to do the most extensive damage I've ever seen. I don't see how she's alive at all. If she makes it through the night, she may never regain consciousness. But she isn't likely to make it through the night, I'm sorry."

"You have to do _something_!" James yelled, jumping to his feet. "People are _healed_ in hospitals, not killed!"

"We can't do anything, I'm sorry. She's lost too much blood, and she's too damaged. Like I said, it'll be a miracle if she makes it through the night, let alone if she ever regains consciousness. We wouldn't normally do this, but as these are probably her last hours, she's in room 16 on the eighth floor." With that, she walked away.

James sank to the floor, head in hands, crying like he never had before (A/N: cough**lupinsiriusluva**cough) Missy and Joan were sobbing hysterically. McGonagall and Dumbledore even had a few stray tears. Without even standing up, James apparated to the eighth floor, in front of room 16. He stumbled in.

Lily was still white as death. He pulled a chair up next to the bed and folded one of her icy hands in his. The others stood at the door, watching. After an hour or so, the professors forced the students (with the exception of James) back to Hogwarts. James didn't even notice that they left. He just stared into Lily's empty face with his bloodshot eyes, talking to her. He spoke of their years at Hogwarts, from first year to their current time. He asked her questions.

Lily opened her eyes to see James, eyes red with tears, hand folded around hers. "Lily," he whispered. "Oh dear god." Every inch of her body throbbed. Sirius, Remus, Missy, and Joan were on the other side of her bed. All were seated. Remus jumped up and ran from the room, presumably to get a healer. The room was dimly lit, but the light hurt her eyes. "Lily, are you okay?" Hell no.

Remus rushed back in with a disbelieving healer. The woman's jaw dropped when she saw Lily's eyes were open. "Lily, dear, how long were you under the curse?" was her first question.

Lily opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. James looked terrified. "Why can't she speak?" Lily wanted to tell them to whisper. Their voices hurt her pounding head even more.

"It's a miracle she's even alive, let alone awake. The curse did deadly damage. Was it longer than a minute?" asked the healer. "I know your body must hurt something awful, just give me thumbs up or down." Lily gave her thumbs up. "Less than five?" thumbs down. The healer looked shocked. "More than six?" thumbs up. "More than seven?" thumbs up. The healer was really startled. "Eight?" thumbs up. "Dear lord," she breathed. "You set a record, that's for sure. Drink this." The healer held a cup to Lily's lips, and she swallowed, as painful as it was to do so. She felt weightlessness, then sleep washed over her.

When Lily next opened her eyes, her hand was in James's, and his head was lying on the bed. She listened to his deep, rhythmic breathing, and was soothed by it. She tried to remember where she was. St. Mungo's. Why? Oh yeah, Voldemort. Her memories came rushing back as she remembered all that had happened. How long had she been here?

A healer stuck his head in to check up on her. "Oh good, you're awake," he said. Lily realized her body didn't hurt any more. "The whole hospital's talking about you. The girl who survived the Crucaitus curse for eight minutes," he said as he checked all her vitals. "You've been in the paper every day for as long as you've been here. You're temperature is still really low," he continued, the last part more to himself. "All right, I understand you can't talk, so I'm going to give you parchment and a quill to use if you need anything. Get some rest." With that he left.

James lifted his head as the door closed, smiling when he saw that Lily was awake. "I thought I'd lost you," he whispered hoarsely. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.

_You almost did._ She wrote.

"You've been here for a month," he said. "In case you were wondering." Lily's eyes widened. A month? That can' t be good. "It's going to be all right, Lily. It's over."

_No, it's not. It will never be over. He wants me on his side or dead. I'll never be safe._

"It's okay, Lils," he said soothingly, smoothing her hair back from her face. "I won't let anything happen to you."

_What happened? How did I get here? I thought I died._

"Sirius, Missy, and I found your room and the common room wrecked. When the map said you weren't in Hogwarts, or on the ground, we figured you'd been kidnapped. We found Dumbledore and told him. He located you, and well, now you're here. They said it'd be a miracle if you lived through that first night, let alone if you ever regained consciousness," he said, tears in his eyes. "I really thought you were gone."

_I won't ever leave you. Don't you ever leave me._

"I won't," he promised. "And don't worry, we'll have you talking in no time."

_James, please tell me you haven't been missing classes to be here._

"Then I won't. But Professor Dumbledore's been bringing me my work."

_Thank you for saving my life, James. Again._

"We're forever destined to be saving each other's lives. My turn next!"

_Don't you dare._

"I won't do it purposely. But it will probably happen. How do you feel?"

_Better. First time I woke up, I hurt like hell. _

"I can't believe you went eight minutes."

_How'd you get me out?_

"Er, I put Voldemort" (the name caused Lily to twitch) "under the Crucaitus curse." (the name of the curse caused Lily to twitch)

_Did you really?_

"Yes," he said. "I had a lot of anger in me at the moment, as I believed you were dead. I don't know what I would have done. I felt so lost. Lily, will you go out with me? I know this is really awkward timing, but I need you."

Lily searched his eyes. He was being serious. _Yes._ His eyes lit up. He leaned forward. Their lips met, and once again, they both felt the shock. Let's leave them to snog in peace.

A/N: So, how was it? No cliffie! I don't think that's a cliffie, anyway. I know that she counted six and a half minutes of being under the curse, but there was some time she was still under it after she stopped counting. Was it satisfying, dissatisfying? Happy, sad? Good, terrible? Lemme know what you thought of it. R&R or I'll send my evil purple elephant after you!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Wrong continent, sorry! Okay, well I'm not really sorry, cause I'd like to be JK, but, whatever…

A/N: I meant to post this on my b-day, but I rode my horse instead of finishing it, sorries. Just pretend today is a couple days ago… Ooh, and guess what. May 24, my b-day, is NATIONAL SCHIZOPHRENIA AWARENESS DAY! So say hello to your local schizo! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ME!

Okay, so obviously, Lily and James weren't _snogging_, to be exact, but they did kiss. Go them. A couple of weeks of insanely patient friends later, Lily regained her much-loved ability to speak. Lily left her hospital room and returned to Hogwarts after exactly six weeks and two days of being in St. Mungo's.

When Lily returned, she found that her dorm was stuffed full of flowers and candy. She also found that the entire school had been watching her progress (including the Slytherins because they wanted her to die). Her 'progress' includes her social life. She and James became an 'item', much to Lily's despair. But love blinds all. Right?

She, James, Missy, Sirius, Joan, and Remus sat beneath a tree by the lake. All the guys had their arms around their girlfriends.

"Good to have you back, Lils," said Missy drowsily.

"Good to be back. I really missed it here," Lily replied, scanning the grounds. "Hey James, do you believe in forever?" a seemingly random, seemingly harmless question. Or so it seemed to James. But love blinds all. Right?

"It depends. I believe in forever with you. I do not believe in forever for Voldemort." Lily twitched. She still wasn't over that.

"That's what I thought," she murmured.

"Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Believe in forever."

"I did. Then it was taken away from me." She removed his arm from her shoulders and stood. "I've got to go study. Bye guys."

_Strike one, Jamesy boy,_ James thought to himself.

"Strike one, James," said Joan.

"My bad," he said, while mentally cussing himself out. "Should I go after her?"

"No, she needs some alone time," replied Missy.

"Girls," he muttered.

"Get used to it," was the simultaneous reply.

James had his eyes on the forbidden forest. He saw a dark doe disappear into the trees. _Lily, where you going?_ He excused himself to his friends and followed into the forest. James shifted into his stag form and trotted after his girlfriend. And trotted right into a circle of death eaters. The doe shifted into someone in a black cloak. Definitely not Lily. But love blinds all. Right?

"Ah, Potter. I knew you'd follow your little mudblood anywhere," the voice of Voldemort. James had shifted back to human form, and was ready to crawl under a rock and die. "You see, Mr. Potter, one does not get away with taking what belongs to Hello K—I mean the Dark Lord. Me. Myself. I."

"We've already gone through this," said James, rolling his eyes for affect. "She doesn't belong to you. You said she belonged to death. You were wrong. Ha ha, you were wrong!"

"You filthy little—"

"You can't say mudblood, because I'm not a mudblood," James pointed out.

Voldemort, at a loss for words, as James had deprived him of his usual insult, stuttered for a minute. "You—you—you filthy little pureblood, you!"

"Yeah, I guess you can say that, because you, yourself are a MUDBLOOD!" shocked silence because followers didn't know Hello Kitty was a mudblood. I mean Voldemort, dammit! "Voldemort's a mudblood, Voldemort's a mudblood!" chanted James, doing a funny little dance thingy.

"Oh shut up you annoying little pureblood! Crucio!" But Voldemort's spell was blocked by the counter spell. all heads in clearing and in audience turn to stage right. Left. No, right.

"Lily!" said James.

"Mudblood!" said Voldemort.

"James! Mudblood!" said Lily.

"Mudblood!" said Voldemort.

"Mudblood!" retorted Lily.

"Mudblood!"

"Mudblood! Wait, why am I getting into a pissing contest with Hello—Voldemort? This is stupid! Come on James, let's go."

Of course, James moved to follow, but was cut off by all the Death Eaters who were now also encircling Lily.

"Damn, almost made it," said James. He and Lily were back to back, wands raised, turning (think Pirates of the Caribbean in the end where Johnny Depp and Orly Bloom are back to back turning in circle thingies).

"I think we can take them," said Lily, viewing the fifty-odd Death Eaters.

"Are you sure?" asked James.

"Totally. Just wait a second." She gave two sharp whistles. "By the way, Voldymort, since you're all such _advanced _wizards, it wouldn't be fair for you to fight us. So I think we should do this fight _muggle style_. Accio wands!" and the wand of every Death Eater flew to Lily, who levitated them into the air, far out of reach. You see, the Death Eaters were lazy, and hadn't thought to teach themselves wandless magic.

Called by Lily's whistle, Missy, Joan, Sirius, and Remus came dashing out of the trees.

"Lils, Prongs, what did you get yourselves into?" asked Sirius as the four joined them.

"Nothin much," said James. "Ready for some fun, muggle style?"

Lily snorted. "Screw muggle style. I just didn't want them to have wands."

The six teenagers simultaneously grinned in an evil sort of way. They then began cursing the dark wizards with everything from jelly legs to pink feathers. I mean, come on, they're teenage witches and wizards, they didn't know dark magic, so they settled for insanely annoying hexes. And the dark wizards and witches found the hexes annoying. I mean, do you know how annoying it is to have pink feathers? Probably not.

Because the Death Eaters didn't have wands, they didn't know what to do with themselves. Some sat down and just started screaming, and others started ripping out feathers and laughing at other people's purple polka dots that ribbited (you know, like a frog…).

Suddenly, at the sight of teachers, including Dumbledore, coming through the trees, all the Death Eaters Disapparated, after Voldemort got their wands for them. The panting teenagers turned to their teachers to find they weren't there. They turned to Lily who blew on the tip of her wand like it was a smoking gun.

"What can I say, I always was good at illusions," she grinned. The marauders and the girls started giggling as they headed towards Dumbledore's office to report MORE Death Eaters on school grounds.

Later that night, Lily and James were sitting together in their common room. "James?" she asked sleepily.

"Yeah?"

"You'll always be there for me, won't you?"

James looked down at his redheaded girlfriend. She was the love of his life. His once enemy. His friend, his confidant, his soul mate. "Always, my Lily. Always."

A/N: There it is. The end. I'm sad. I'm sorry this took so long to get out. I was having some serious trouble continuing. I wrote this chapter like five times, and finally decided that it was best to just end it as soon as possible, before I did something to mess it up. I know, you probably hated it and thought the whole thing was messed up, but I thought the story was overall pretty good, except for some parts. Okay, so I'm REALLY sad. This was my first fic, my baby, and now it's all done! sobs hysterically Alright, go review, then read my other fic(s), kay? I LOVE YOU GUYS, THANX FOR STICKING WITH ME ON THIS! And special thanx to all my reviewers and my beta reader. Kisses, Sami


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